Knife crime rate still high for West Midlands force

Knife crime campaigner Rachel Warren said the figures did not surprise her

The West Midlands Police area has again recorded the highest rate of knife crime offences in England and Wales, according to the latest figures.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there were 5,268 offences in the force area between April 2023 and March 2024, giving a rate of 178 per 100,000 of the population.

Its rate was higher than the London Metropolitan Police force's which recorded 14,961 offences but with a rate of 169 per 100,000 of the population.

West Midlands Police (WMP) said it introduced a new knife crime policy in November which led to an increase in arrests.

The force was placed into special measures in November although this week a police watchdog said many of the problem areas it identified were addressed.

WMP's rate of 178 offences per 100,000 for the year to March was an increase on the previous 12 months when its rate was 176 per 100,000, according to the ONS data.

In April, West Midlands Police also recorded the highest rate of knife crime offences in England and Wales for the whole of 2023.

Rachel Warren, from Birmingham Says No to Knife Crime and Youth Violence, said she was "not surprised in the slightest" to see the West Midlands at the top of the table.

"Knife crime is so widespread now, it's not limited to a community or postcode any more," she said.

Even affluent areas of the West Midlands have a problem, she claimed.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, more than 5,200 knife crime offences were recorded in the West Midlands Police force area, according to the latest national figures

Ms Warren said there were "so many issues" which were leading to knife crime in the West Midlands.

She added they included mental health issues, the breakdown of families, poverty and the glamorization of knife crime.

But she said: "What is lacking in every area is finances."

In 2023 her charity organised a football match in memory of Cody Fisher, who was murdered inside a Birmingham nightclub in December 2022. Two men were jailed earlier this year.

She said the event brought together more than 500 people to spread their message but the cost of organising a follow-up event in 2024 was too high.

West Midlands Police had held knife amnesties and said it had increased the number of arrests made for carrying knives

West Midlands Police said it was looking at the way the official figures were recorded because it believed it might be recording them differently to other forces.

It also said Birmingham was the youngest city in the country.

Serious youth violence was a "top priority", a force spokesperson added, and its new strategy had seen an increase in the number of arrests and charges for people carrying knives.

Patrols were sent to problem areas and it was also seeking to raise awareness of the impact of knife crime, they added.