West Midlands no longer has top knife crime rate

Chief Constable Craig Guildford said officers and staff continued to work "tirelessly to make substantial reductions in crime"

The West Midlands Police area no longer has the highest rate of knife crime in England and Wales, official figures show.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the force had 165 reported knife and sharp instrument offences per 100,000 people from October 2023 to September 2024.

Reported knife crime fell by 6% compared to last year.

The figures, released on Thursday, follow the death of Leo Ross, 12, who was found with stab wounds near Scribers Lane in Hall Green, Birmingham, on 21 January.

A 14-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with murder.

Birmingham City FC supporters are to clap to remember Leo on the 12th minute during Saturday's home game against Rotherham United.

Fans have been invited to meet in tribute to him in the Kop car park from 13:00 GMT before the match, which kicks off at 15:00.

The team's official supporters club said on Facebook: "Leo was one of us, he was a Brummie, but more importantly, he was a loved one who was taken way [too] soon."

Schoolboy Leo Ross died in hospital after he was stabbed

An "abundance of funding and dedicated resources continue to be ploughed into reducing knife crime", which remained a top priority for West Midlands Police, the force said.

The fall in knife crime rates, combined with a rise in the rate of offences in London, means the West Midlands Police area now has the second highest rate of knife crime in England and Wales.

Chief Constable Craig Guildford, who has met pupils from Leo's school, said: "We are all very focused upon preventing such tragedies, but no statistics can ever mitigate the loss of such a young and promising life."

Overall, crime recorded by West Midlands Police reduced by 8% in the year to September 2024 compared with the previous 12 months, ONS data showed.

The force said this was thanks to "faster responses by police, more arrests, better victim care and good investigations".

The number of shop theft offences it solved had doubled, it added.

Robbery had reduced by 8%, and vehicle crime, serious youth violence, and domestic abuse went down by 11%, the force pointed out.

It confirmed home burglaries decreased by 12% and theft from the person offences by 29%.

Mr Guildford said it was "fantastic to see" hard work was continuing to pay off.

However, shoplifting had increased by more than 30%.

The force recorded 28,542 shoplifting cases in the year to September.

It said there was an increase in "most areas of the country".

But it added: "Over the last year, we have arrested 743 (39%) more people in connection with shop theft and we have solved more than 3,379 offences (126%) compared to last year."