Wrexham shop owner helped by Ryan Reynolds says burglary was life changing

Alex Mackenzie, a criminal defence and prison law solicitor with GHP Legal in Wrexham, said she fell in love with Wrexham when she moved there two years ago – but despite finding people “lovely for the most part” there was “a lot of deprivation”.

“A lot of people that I think may feel sidelined or that they’ve got nothing to aspire to, which then translates into crime ultimately, unfortunately.”

While she is unsure more crime is being committed in the area, she does think the value of things being stolen has increased, which results in more people being given short prison sentences.

Rehabilitation and support, she believes, could in many cases be more productive.

“I think the biggest thing is short prison sentences. There’s been an increase in the desire – and I understand that desire – to punish people,” she said.

“But actually what that means is that we’re getting a lot of people going into prison for short periods.

“They’re coming out, having lost benefits, accommodation, and are finding that they’re ending up back in prison much quicker – sometimes because they feel they have to go there because they can’t cope outside.

“That revolving door, back in and out, is just spinning so much faster I think now.”