Burglary, robbery and knife crimes fall in West Midlands – but stalking and harassment reports rise

The reductions have been revealed in the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data on crime in England and Wales in the year ending December.

According to the figures, West Midlands Police has seen a 19 per cent drop in burglaries, robberies fall by 21 per cent and knife crime by 8.5 per cent.

There have also been increases in some offences –with stalking and harassment crimes seeing a steep rise in reports over the last year at 72 per cent. This is against a national average of a 22 per cent increase.

Despite the local increase, West Midland Police say they welcome all reports of this nature and have taken many additional measures to encourage such reports in the last 12 months despite the pandemic.

A spokesman for the force said: “We continue to invest in key initiatives to help victims of stalking and harassment report crime and we are working to better equip officers to deal with these reports. We know that these types of offences can impact on how safe people feel, and we are working to improve officers’ knowledge so they can identify early identification of wider patterns of this type of behaviour.

“Protecting and supporting the people within our communities will always remain at the heart of what we do.

“Domestic abuse reports have also increased by a third with one in five crimes being domestic-related. While hate crime has also increased by 33 per cent fuelled by online offending especially at the start of lockdown in April 2020.

“We remain committed to taking action to a rise in crime reports we receive; with safeguarding vulnerable people and catching perpetrators of domestic abuse a key focus for the force. Training has also been refreshed to address safety in the home for children who are victims of abuse.”

Training is also now been given to identify cases for referral or escalation for wider families of domestic abuse cases.

Vehicle offences

Staffordshire Police also saw a significant fall in robberies, thefts and burglary offences. The county saw a 16 per cent decrease in robbery and a 20 per cent reduction in theft offences, with theft from a person down overall by 46 per cent.

Vehicle offences in Staffordshire were also down by 17 per cent overall. The county has also seen a 11 per cent reduction in overall burglary types and six per cent decrease in violence with injury.

However, in line with the national picture, some types of crime have seen an increase. Stalking and harassment has increased by 41 per cent and violence against the person has increased overall by 17 per cent.

West Midlands Police Deputy Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine said: “A reduction in key crimes such as burglary and robbery is welcomed. A drop in knife crime is also good news but this continues to be challenging for us as a force at a time where we have had tragic deaths of young people recently involving knives.

“Offences such as stalking and harassment − including threats of violence and abuse sent over social media − fall into the violent crime data set and it’s there where we’ve seen significant increases.

“Our biggest crime type is stalking and harassment offences. They account for one in seven of all offences reported to West Midlands Police and in the last 12 months have increased by 95 per cent from 22,348 (2019-20) to 43,666 (2020-21).

Suffering

“It’s the significant increase in these types of offences, often social media-driven, that have resulted in the rise in ‘violent crime’ offences.”

On the rise in domestic abuse, DCC Jardine said: “We know lockdown has been tough on relationships and that people have been suffering domestic abuse in both physical and psychological forms.

“But we need people to know there is no need to suffer alone and the force, along with the many charities and refuges across the West Midlands, are ready, willing and able to help.”

Deputy Chief Constable for Staffordshire, Emma Barnett, added: “I’m pleased that Staffordshire has seen further decreases in recorded crime and while we know the pandemic has had an effect we are determined to maintain these reductions as we see the restrictions ease.

“The force continues to focus on protecting victims of domestic abuse, and stalking and harassment, working closely with partners to make sure victims get the support they need. Our #YouAreNotAlone campaign, run as part of a national government-backed initiative, saw officers focus on domestic abuse particularly during the lockdown periods, and this continues.

“Violent crime also continues to be a priority and we know the impact that such crimes have on our communities. We are using the investments made from the precept increase, and the additional officers we have recruited through the national uplift programme, to improve our capacity and capabilities to disrupt criminality and tackle the issues that matter the most to local communities.”