West Midlands remains worst region outside London for knife crime

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Thursday West Midlands Police recorded 4,958 offences between July last year to June this year.

The figure was the second highest recorded across the country behind Metropolitan Police in London, which recorded a staggering 11,232 knife crime offences.

The increase for the West Midlands for the crime was 50 per cent, with 3,299 offences being recorded the year before – the highest increase seen in the country.

It comes as the region continues to be plagued by violent crime, with 16-year-old Ronan Kanda and 15-year-old Zane Smart being fatally stabbed in separate incidents in Wolverhampton earlier this year – prompting calls for police to act.

Other recent incidents have seen people wielding weapons, including machetes, across the Black Country – whilst a 14-year-old boy was stabbed at an academy in Walsall earlier this month.

Police have said they are committed to tackling the issue and the root causes of it, with weapon surrender bins being placed at locations within the region to deter people from carrying knives – with one recently being installed outside St Peter's Church in Wolverhampton.

Elsewhere, Staffordshire Police recorded 801 knife crime-related incidents – which represented a 22 per cent increase on the 657 recorded the year before that.

The number of firearm offences recorded for the West Midlands only increased slightly, with 736 incidents recorded up to June this year – one more than the 735 seen the year before. For Staffordshire, the increase was from 44 to 50.

A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: "We acknowledge the findings of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) latest crime report, which details where Staffordshire Police sits nationally in relation to recorded reported crime.

"Nationally, since June 2021, crime has increased by 12 percent while Staffordshire has seen a 15 percent increase.

"However, overall, Staffordshire is ranked eighth lowest per 1,000 population for recorded crime, making us one of the safest places nationally to live, work and visit.

"The figures show there has been an increase in knife crime and residential burglary. In response to this, earlier this year our Chief Constable renewed our commitment to ensure we take action on all residential burglaries reported to us, including carrying out home visits to ensure we gather as much evidence as possible and provide victims with the support they need to have peace of mind in their own homes. We are also committed to working with our partners and education establishments to highlight the dangers of carrying knives."

Following the publication of the latest figures, Deputy Chief Constable, Emma Barnett, said: “Although the figures show that Staffordshire is still one of the safest places nationally, it is concerning to see a rise in some crime types, in particular violent crime and burglary. There is still a lot of work to do to tackle the types of criminality which continue to significantly impact our communities.

“This is why, as a result of our new policing model launched at the end of June this year, we will have more time to investigate crime, we have increased our local police patrols and delivered new training to all frontline staff on vulnerability.

“We are committed to actioning feedback from our communities and doing all we can to investigate any reports made to us in order to ensure Staffordshire continues to be a safe place to live.”

Meanwhile violence against the person crime hit 161,528 in the West Midlands and 36,102 in Staffordshire, an increase of 17 and 15 per cent, whilst sex offences hit 11,281 and 3,448 – up 16 and 33 per cent.

The biggest increase seen for both areas is theft from a person, with the West Midlands seeing a 75 per cent increase to 4,082 and Staffordshire seeing an 82 per cent increase to 486 offences.

Victim support groups have said "women deserve better" after a rise in violent and sexual offences nationally, with 196,889 sexual offences – up 29 per cent year-on-year from 164,043 and 21 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Reacting to the figures, Diana Fawcett, chief executive at the charity Victim Support, said: “This huge increase in sexual violence, in particular rape, reported to the police is seriously alarming and a stark reminder that the government needs to get a grip on staggeringly low conviction rates and horrendous court delays.

“Things simply can’t go on like this – women deserve better.”

The ONS said the increases in recorded sex offences may reflect “media coverage and campaigns on people’s willingness to report incidents to the police”, as well as “the impact of high-profile incidents."

Incidents such as the murder of Sarah Everard led former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to publicly say it was “infuriating” that cases involving violence against women and girls were not being taken seriously enough by police.

Met Police officer Wayne Couzens was handed a whole life sentence on September 21 last year for the kidnap, rape and murder of the 33-year-old marketing executive. The killing on March 3 last year prompted the force to vow to make the streets safer for women and girls.

The ONS said the increase in recorded sexual offences could also reflect “a potential increase in the number of victims”.