BROADGREEN has come a long way from the days when prostitutes stood openly on street corners, say Wiltshire Police, despite an officer labelling it as “Swindon’s red light district” on national TV this week.

The comments were made during an episode of Channel 4’s 999 What’s Your Emergency? programme aired on Monday night.

The show was focusing on crimes of a sexual nature and one segment in particular dealt with efforts to combat street prostitution.

Officers were being filmed driving along County Road and into Manchester Road when the comments were made.

It is not the first time that the same derogatory label has been applied to the area, with residents complaining that it exaggerates the scale of the prostitution issue and is not a fair reflection of the community’s character.

Wiltshire Police have now acknowledged that improvements have been made, thanks to the efforts of the community and its own officers.

Supt Adrian Burt said: “A significant amount of work involving Wiltshire Police, its partners and local councillors has been carried out to improve the area, the results are now being seen daily by those living and working in the community.

“The issue of sex work in Wiltshire is not disproportionate to other force areas of a similar size.

“Wiltshire Police have robust policies and procedures in place and adopt a multi-agency approach towards tackling this particular issue.

“We are also actively tackling those that solicit sex workers and anyone caught will be prosecuted.

“We will continue to work closely with our local communities to ensure they feel safe on the streets around their homes. Residents are encouraged to report any issues to the police.

“We regularly assist our partner agencies with dedicated outreach in the area, in order to tackle the issue of on street sex work from every angle.

“If any sex workers are identified, professionals will offer a triage service to try and ensure they are registered with all available services and are receiving treatment for any drug and alcohol issues.”

Coun Bob Wright, whose ward includes the Broadgreen area, said other concerns, such as rogue landlords, overcrowding and waste dumping were all ranked higher on the list of concerns than on-street prostitution.

Previous use of the term ‘red light district’ has led to residents contacting him to express concerns.

“The area being described as a ‘red light district’ includes ordinary roads, with ordinary people living there and ordinary people travelling through,” said Coun Wright.

“Due to the layout of the area, with many alleyways, prostitutes have used it. But the numbers have greatly reduced.

“Prostitution is now closely linked to human trafficking, working out of flats in different areas - it has taken a new form.”

  • 999: What’s Your Emergency? features on Channel 4 every Monday night.