Fewer recorded crimes but campaigner issues warning

Anti-knife campaigner Alan Walsh praised the police but says more can be done

Recorded crime across Merseyside has fallen in the past year, police say, but one campaigner has said "the battle is far from over".

Merseyside Police has reported a 14% decrease in recorded crime across the region over the past 12 months, with fewer incidents of gun discharges, knife crime and burglary.

A Police and Crime Commissioner’s public scrutiny meeting on Monday heard how during the 2023/2024 financial year, nearly 24,000 fewer crimes had been recorded compared to the previous year.

But Alan Walsh, who founded Real Men Don't Carry Knives, said: "We can't get complacent with figures."

Mr Walsh, who has previously spoken about when he was stabbed multiple times, said he has nothing but praise for the police but the figures related to "recorded crime".

"It is great it has gone down but we can't get blurred with figures, we know a lot of crimes go unrecorded."

'Prevention is essential'

He added: "We can't get complacent that we are winning the battle, and I know the police aren't but, if you can ask the people on the streets, it's still there, crime is very prevalent."

Emily Spurrell, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Merseyside, said while the figures were "reassuring" more could be done.

Over the next four years, the police plan to continue their Serious Violence Duty strategy, which sets out how the force will work in the years ahead to continue to prevent and reduce violence in communities, Ms Spurrell said.

She said: “Prevention is essential to all this work.

"If we can intervene early and stop people from ever getting involved in crime, then we continue to reduce the harm to our communities."

Early prevention is a priority in Ms Spurrell's Police and Crime Plan, she said.

"It's going in the right direction, nut lets not get bogged down with the figures."