TWO of Bolton’s tiny back-alleys were the site of a huge number of violent and sexual offences last year, yet no one was prosecuted.

But police say while the 54 incidents recorded in 11 months appears high, in fact it is low considering the crimes occurred near to licensed premises around the nightlife hotspots of Chancery Lane and Mawdsley Street.

Data for December has not yet been released.

Violent and sexual incidents made up nearly a third of the 159 total crimes reported in the area and to date only two of all those reports have resulted in prosecutions.

Police say they have zero tolerance for violent incidents, but say that the number of serious crimes is “low” considering that 2,000 people travel into and out of the area each month, mostly to go to pubs, clubs and bars, including those on Nelson Square.

They say there were just 13 specific instances of more serious cases of assault and battery or actual bodily harm.

Superintendent Rick Jackson from GMP’s Bolton borough said: “While the crime statistics for the Chancery Lane and Mawdsley Street areas of Bolton appear high in comparison to other areas, it is important to take into consideration that there are licensed premises in this area and therefore a large number of people are in the area each weekend.

“In 2018 there were 13 instances of violence in the area which police dealt with. This equates to just over one incident a month – considering upwards of 2,000 people use this area each weekend attending the licensed premises, we would consider this a low number of incidents.

“Saying that, we are not content with even the lowest number, violence is not welcome in Bolton.”

A similar trend in figures is in evidence at Nelson Square, another key area for Bolton’s nightlife and a place that a number of people travel to and from using Chancery Lane. Over the past 11 months 132 crimes have been reported in the square, 67 of them violent or sexual offences.

Police say they are working alongside the owners of the clubs and bars in the area to try and reduce the number of incidents. A number of schemes aim to help staff understand the best way to deal with situations and when to contact police.

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“We work closely with the licensed premises and local businesses to ensure the safety of patrons and the local community is a top priority,” Supt Jackson explained. “We are confident that the licensed premises in this area have appropriate measures in place, by way of example ID scanners, and door staff who use metal detectors.

“One such licensed premises operates Club Crew – an initiative where staff are trained by Drink Aware UK with the aim of identifying and dealing with individuals that are vulnerable due to having consumed too much alcohol.”

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Supt Jackson says there are “many reasons” why the police struggle to bring cases to a “positive ending”.

He said: “The statistics also relate to thefts, drugs and some sexual offences – we take all of these incidents incredibly seriously and each one is investigated thoroughly.

"We try incredibly hard to reach a positive ending to an investigation but unfortunately it is not always possible for many reasons.

"This could be because the victim does not support the police investigation, it may not be in the public interest to prosecute, or there may be insufficient evidence to secure a prosecution.

"No decision on a crime will be taken without every option being looked at before.

"With the continued support of our partners, local businesses and the community police in Bolton are determined to bring crime numbers down.”