- The prevalence of victims of violence was substantially lower than national estimates for 13–17-year-olds (8% versus approximately 20%)
- Most Bradford teenagers feel safe during the day, with nine in ten reporting positive or acceptable safety levels
- Trusted friends and adults are key to young people’s sense of security
- Over half of pupils (63%) reported feeling safe at school all or most of the time.
The latest findings from Born in Bradford study reveal young people’s experiences of crime and safety in their home city. Researchers have surveyed over 13,000 pupils aged 12-15 across 25 secondary schools. Eight in ten young people reported feeling safe during the day, while only around half (54%) felt safe at night.
The study found that only 8% of young people reported that they had been a victim of violence in the past year, compared to around 20% for 13 to 17-year-olds nationwide.
While most young people reported feeling safe overall, confidence in school safety was much lower. Just 24% of young people reported feeling very safe, which aligns with national trends that have fallen from 41% in 2011 to 26% in 2023. Bradford teenagers share growing concerns with their peers nationwide about their sense of safety in school environments.
Girls reported lower safety levels both at night and in school, with 16% rating night-time safety as poor or very poor. Boys, meanwhile, were more likely to report being victims of violence (10.5% versus 8.1% overall).
Safety concerns varied by ethnicity: White British adolescents were more likely to feel unsafe after dark, while Pakistani British pupils were more likely to feel unsafe at school.
Describing their feelings about why some spaces do not feel safe to them: “At the park, because there’s always commotion. It’s always full of teenagers smoking, and I don’t really want to be there.” – Male, 14 years old, mixed ethnicity.
Further interviews with young people reveal what makes the difference: participants feel safer when trusted adults are nearby and when good-quality local spaces are available. Friends, family or other adults were repeatedly cited as sources of security and belonging.
“I don’t really feel super comfortable going around on my own. If I’m with somebody else, [my neighbourhood is] quite nice” – Male, 13 years old, White British.
For other young people, a positive sense of safety was associated with limited crime in their neighbourhood:
“Yes. There’s not much that I’ve heard of like any crime or anything that I’ve heard of.” – Female, 13 years old, White British
Dr Rosslyn Kerr, a Research Fellow at Born in Bradford:
“Bradford teenagers are, statistically, safer than the national average – only 8% reported being a victim of violence, compared to around 20% nationally. Yet nearly half feel unsafe after dark and over a third don’t consistently feel safe at school. This matters because feeling unsafe has real consequences even when actual harm is low – it can reduce physical activity, affects sleep, harms mental health, and can lower academic achievements.”
This study is published as a preprint and currently undergoing peer review on the open research platform Wellcome Open Research, and is part of the Born in Bradford Age of Wonder, a seven-year project tracking the lives of all secondary school students in Bradford across 20 different life dimensions – from mental health and nutrition to gaming, the environment and AI use.
Other Age of Wonder research findings you can find out here: https://borninbradford.nhs.uk/our-impacts/age-of-wonder-campaign/
