Crawley Memorial Gardens a '˜no-go zone' at night

People have called for more police in Crawley and safety measures in Memorial Gardens after a woman was raped.
Police at the scene in Memorial Gardens, Crawley. Picture by Eddie Mitchell.Police at the scene in Memorial Gardens, Crawley. Picture by Eddie Mitchell.
Police at the scene in Memorial Gardens, Crawley. Picture by Eddie Mitchell.

The comments came after the leader of Crawley Borough Council demanded more police on the town’s streets, saying ‘things are getting totally out of hand’.

Cllr Peter Lamb (Lab, Northgate) took to social media after reports that a woman had been raped in the Memorial Gardens on Sunday (January 6). See original story here:

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The shocking attack and Cllr Lamb’s call sparked a huge response on our Facebook page.

Alex Robertson said: “If the Memorial Gdns were shut off at nights, there would be less likelihood of people using it as a short-cut in the dark (people aren’t too keen on climbing gates and fences after a night out). If not able to lock it shut, then at least fence off those bushes and light the place up like Blackpool, with good, constantly monitored CCTV cameras installed leaving no blind spots. Unfortunately for this girl ... AND the ones before her...NO lessons have been learned, or it seems heeded, from previous attacks in the gardens at night. Lovely during the day, if you can put up with the drug taking/dealing but in the dark when the night crawlers are prowling it is like some kind of no-go zone!”

Chloe Anne Appleby said: “They should have less bushes and more lights and get cctv or make it easier to become a police officer.”

Hayley Parrin added: “I think there should be police out walking on the streets every night. And maybe they would be if the government didn’t make cuts.”

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Paul Brown said: “Been a dodgy area for months and never any police. More interested in catching someone doing 35 in a 30.”

Tony Gilbert said: “Old fashioned policing would have been unlikely to prevent this attack as it’s impossible to be everywhere. The bad guys just move elsewhere.”

Jan Large said: “There should be more lighting, cctv and gates shut at night.”

Dawn Adams added: “Yes, we will always need more police around town things are getting bad here in Crawley. In saying that, you never see a police officers in town unless something has happened. Police are called once the crime has been committed, surely by putting more police in town you would save money in the long run by preventing crime before hand.”

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Darren Hicklin asked: “With all the new houses and the increase in revenue collected for Sussex Police via their 10% of the council tax. Could they not get more on the beat with their increase in budget?”

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