Commissioner in desperate funding plea to help solve 'tens of thousands of crimes'

Simon Foster has warned that "tens of thousands of crimes will go unsolved" across the region due to a shortfall of officers.

It comes after West Midlands Police saw the country's biggest rise in crime by far in the latest official figures, with violence, weapons possession, sexual harassment, domestic violence and hate crime all through the roof.

The force is also struggling to cope with record levels of emergency calls and is facing a budget black hole of £60 million by 2025/26.

Labour PCC Mr Foster has repeatedly blamed government funding cuts for his force's struggles.

He has called on MPs around the region to back his plea for more cash ahead of a government review into how funding is distributed among forces.

It comes despite the police council tax precept being raised to its maximum level for years on end, and the force being handed a budget rise of £36m – the biggest spike outside the Met.

West Midlands Police is getting 1,200 new officers by 2023 as part of the Government's uplift programme, but Mr Foster wants an extra 1,000 officers on top of this – at a cost of more than £50 million – to make up for cuts since 2010.

In the letter, he said: “I want to build a strong, united voice amongst elected representatives, around the need for West Midlands Police to be provided with fair and adequate funding for the benefit of the people and communities that we all represent."

He said the force lost 25 per cent of its officers in the nine years to 2019, and would still have a shortfall after the uplift programme was complete.

"I am asking you to please join me in campaigning for the necessary funding for their return, as part of a shared desire to level-up West Midlands Police," he added.

"The force is facing fresh inflationary pressures, currently forecast to be up to a £14m shortfall in funding as a result next year, even though West Midlands Police is recognised as one of the country’s leanest and most financially efficient forces. This only further enhances the case for a fair funding deal.

"I would urge you to please kindly join me in a cross-party campaign to ensure West Midlands Police receives the funding it needs to return officer numbers back to 2010 levels and that any changes to the police funding formula do not either, perpetuate existing unfairness or further disadvantage us, but actually result in a deal that will ensure adequate and fair funding for West Midlands Police."

Like his predecessor David Jamieson, Mr Foster has clashed with Tory MPs in the region over issues around force funding and performance.

He recently came under fire over controversial plans they claim will see stop and search scaled back.