More than 25 per cent of West Midlands residents feel ‘unsafe’, according to consultation

Almost 6,000 residents in the region answered a series of questions as part of a consultation on the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster’s draft Police and Crime Plan 2025-2029.

And when asked on whether they felt safe where they live, 1,198 said they felt ‘unsafe’ while a further 438 felt ‘very unsafe’ – representing 28 per cent of respondents.

More people said they felt either ‘safe’ or ‘very safe’ (1,653 and 336 respectively) but 2,160 people chose the ‘neural’ option indicating they didn’t feel particularly safe or unsafe in their areas.

The draft plan, which all police and crime commissioners have to deliver within a year of their election, sets out Mr Foster’s key aims and objectives for his term of office.

Among the areas of focus in this plan – the final version of which must be published by March 31 – include neighbourhood policing, tackling knife crime, domestic abuse, male violence towards women and children, child sexual abuse and exploitation, road safety and protecting witnesses.

Most of the people who took part in the consultation came from Birmingham with 2,575 respondents while the other six main West Midlands towns and cities ranged between 393 and 599 respondents.

When asked if they’d had any contact with West Midlands Police in the last three years, there was a near even split with 2,901 saying they had and 2,927 saying they hadn’t.

Of those that had contacted police, 777 said their experience was ‘somewhat positive’ while 392 said it was ‘very positive. But 644 had a ‘somewhat negative’ experience while 393 rated it ‘very negative with a further 695 opting for ‘neutral’.

When it came to an overall view of the force, more than 2,000 were ‘somewhat positive’ or ‘very positive’ (1,572 and 542 respectively) but again, 1,134 said it was ‘somewhat negative’ and a further 472 were very negative. A total of 2,108 remained ‘neutral’.

And 3,103 people said they did not visit, work or volunteer in another area while 2,725 people said they did engage with other places other than their home area.

Of those that did venture to other areas, 684 people felt ‘safe’ and 169 felt ‘very safe’ while 579 felt ‘unsafe’ and a further 234 felt ‘very unsafe’.