West Midlands sees 6% drop in all crime

Chief Constable Craig Guildford was appointed in December 2022 and changed the force's policing model in 2023

A 6% fall in all crime across the West Midlands, the biggest drop in England and Wales, has been welcomed by the force's chief constable.

Figures from the force released on Thursday showed vehicle crime, burglaries, robberies, serious youth violence and gun crime have all seen reductions.

A new model of policing from 2023, 150 more officers and 20 PCSO's were all factors, Chief Constable Craig Guildford said, along with "a lot of hard work by officers and staff".

"Yes, it's the largest reduction, but it's a reduction in some of those very key and important areas of crime which are of concerns to me and members of the public," he said.

The 6% fall meant that was 19,828 fewer people who were victims of crime in the West Midlands, police said.

Knife-enabled robberies were down by a quarter, knife crime was also down by 17%, burglary had fallen by 22%, and robbery was down by 18%, Mr Guildford said.

In January, figures showed the force no longer had the highest rate of knife crime in England and Wales.

"We are making a difference and continue to do so, but that is down to some very hard work," he added.

He gave his thanks in particular all staff and officers in the force's contact centre.

"The telephone handling is the best in the country," he added.

'Frustrating reality'

One average the force takes about 70,000 999 calls a month, he said, with an answer rate of one to two seconds.

Mr Guilford, who was appointed chief constable in December 2022, said his move away from "siloed policing" had helped reduce crime.

West Midlands Police serves communities across seven policing areas: Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

In 2023 a local model of policing was introduced with a chief superintendent in charge in each area of response, neighbourhood policing and local CID while working with a local authority.

The 150 extra officers and 20 PCSO's had all been deployed to frontline, however the force had 700 fewer officers than in 2010 and 500 fewer PCSO's which he described as a "frustrating reality".

"[I agree] there is still more work to do, there always will be, but it's important as the police service we reach out into communities, we have engaged communities," he said.