Nottinghamshire Live readers have been having their say on whether they feel safe in Nottingham at night - and there is a clear answer.
More than 1,000 votes have been cast, and almost three quarters of people have said they do not feel safe in the city at night.
The news comes after a spate of incidents in the city centre in the last few months.
A 21-year-old man was in a critical but stable condition in hospital after sustaining serious head injuries.
Police believe the incident may be linked to an "argument over a taxi".
It happened at about 2.40am on Saturday, March 16, near the junction of Lower Parliament Street and Clumber Street, outside the intu Victoria Centre.
On March 13, Nottinghamshire Live reported how a 19-year-old man was admitted to hospital with facial injuries after a daytime attack in Carrington Street, near the junction with Canal Street, just before 12.30pm on Friday, March 8.
Police described the attack as "serious".
Do you feel safe at night in Nottingham?
1000+ VOTES SO FAR
And in February, a 25-year-old party-goer from Cambridgeshire, told us he would never return to Nottingham after he was beaten up so badly he required surgery.
Nottingham has been accredited as a 'Purple Flag' city for the eighth consecutive year, meaning it has been formally recognised as a safe place for a night out.
But spate of city centre incidents led to a poll being set up to ask how readers feel when they are out in Nottingham at night.
We posed the same question to people in the city centre, who gave their reactions to the "scary" incidents.
Eze Emokpae, 21, a student of Radford said: “I wouldn’t go out alone, especially not without friends. I’m scared to go out, especially at night.”
Stacey Clay, 36, of Bestwood, said: “I’m very scared. I’ve got an 18-year-old who’s scared and doesn’t leave the house because they’re also frightened. It doesn’t feel safe at all anymore.”
Ann England, 79, of Nottingham, added: “I don’t feel safe at all. It’s really dreadful lately with all of the crime going on in Nottingham at the moment.”
Responding to the vote, Chief Inspector Donna Lawton, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Tens of thousands of people come to Nottingham every weekend to enjoy the fantastic nightlife our city offers and the vast majority of them have a great night out and look forward to returning.
“We continue to work closely with the Nottingham BID, venues, partners, taxi marshals, security teams, bar staff and food outlets, who each have a part to play in ensuring people have a safe and enjoyable night out. We have a number of initiatives in the city centre that work to reduce violence.
“As with any large city, there will always be a number of crimes reported to us – this is no different to any other area with a large population and thriving night time economy and Nottingham remains a safe place to live, work and visit.
“Where people are coming into our city to commit crimes, we are actively working to identify them and bring them to justice and we are also working closely with our partners, who we have a strong working relationship with, to empower them to identify and resolve situations before they arise.”
Councillor Toby Neal, Portfolio Holder for Community Protection at Nottingham City Council, said: “The city centre is an important economic driver for Nottingham which attracts many people who find it welcoming, caring, clean and safe, as shown by Nottingham being awarded Purple Flag status every year since 2010.
“We want to see it continue to thrive, which is why we have plans in place to revamp areas and improve the built environment to make it more attractive and welcoming to residents and visitors. However, we recognise that there are some issues which can dissuade people from coming into the city and we continue to work with our police colleagues and the Nottingham BID to tackle them.
“We have a CCTV network across the city and more than 100 Community Protection officers to support the police and are working with landlords and the taxi industry to raise standards.
“We also carry out our annual, statistically-significant Respect Survey For Nottingham where we speak to nearly 3,000 local people. Our latest survey showed that just 17 per cent of those asked in the city centre feel unsafe at night.”
Jeff Allen, chairman of Nottingham Business Improvement district (BID) said: "Many thousands of people enjoy a safe and secure night out in Nottingham each week and it would be helpful to the city if the media could focus more on this, than the relatively small number of incidents that detract from this.
"Nottingham BID will continue to work with its members, the Police, street pastors and taxi marshals to provide a safe and secure environment for people wishing to enjoy the city in the evening.”
