Call for new approach to tackling violent crime amid rising murder rates in the West Midlands

Rich Cooke says neighbourhood policing should be brought "up to date" with officers given adequate time to build relationships and get to know their communities, allowing them to gather intelligence more easily.

It comes after new data from the Office for National Statistics showed 51 homicides were committed in the West Midlands Police force area between April 2021 and March 2022.

It compared to 40 in the previous 12 months – a rise of 27.5 per cent.

The homicide rate in the West Midlands over the three-year period to the year ending March 2022 was 15.8 per million population – higher than the England and Wales average of 10.8.

Just in the past few months, 20-year-old Bailey Atkinson was fatally stabbed in Walsall town centre, 18-year-old Jack Lowe died after being stabbed in Darlaston and 23-year-old Cody Fisher was knifed on the dance floor of a Birmingham nightclub and died at the scene.

Mr Cooke said: “It seems like every day we’re talking about violence and violent deaths and every day we’re making the same calls to prevent needless deaths so surely it is now time for a different approach.

“I have always been a strong advocate of neighbourhood policing and I think we should be looking at ways of bringing that model up to date.

“If police officers are given adequate time and space they can be much more proactive, build relationships and get to know a community and geographic area intimately well.

“This then feeds engagement and intelligence which will help address prevalence of drug abuse linked to acquisitive crime, gangs and knife crime.”

West Midlands Police has also been working closely with schools, doctors and paramedics to encourage children to talk about knife crime with parents, teachers and peers.

Its #lifeorknife campaign, which is now in its fifth year, highlights the common signs that indicate when adults might feel it is time to discuss knife crime with young people in their lives.

It also provides information on where people can report or talk to someone about knives and where people can anonymously dispose of them.

Nationally, homicide returned to pre-pandemic levels in the year to March 2022, according to the ONS figures.

There were 696 victims in the last year, 130 more – or a 23 per cent increase – than the year ending March 2021 when Government restrictions meant there was less social contact.

Mr Cooke said courts and other organisations also must play their part in driving down violent crime.

“We need officers to be able to use their stop and search powers to prevent violent crimes and to get weapons off our streets," he added.

“We need the courts to hand down sentences that act as a deterrent.

"And we need other services – such as the health service and education – to work together because intervention and prevention must be at the heart of our response.

“It’s not just a policing issue. We all have a duty because one life lost to violence is one too many.”