Latest crime figures reveal mixed picture

All forces in the West Midlands saw overall crime fall in the most recent figures

Warwickshire's police force saw smaller falls in violent crime and overall crime than other forces in the region, compared to the previous 12 months.

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also showed increases in sexual offences, robberies and drugs offences, for Warwickshire, while other forces saw their numbers in those categories fall.

But the number of violent crimes in the Warwickshire area remain the lowest in the West Midlands, when compared to its population.

West Mercia Police also saw the number of recorded drugs offences increase, compared to the previous 12 months and Staffordshire Police saw a larger than average increase in burglaries from homes.

The ONS releases crime statistics every three months, showing the performance of individual force areas and national trends.

The latest figures cover the 12 months to June 2024 and are compared with the same 12 months for 2023.

Some national trends, such as a large rise in shoplifting, are seen across almost every force area, although the rises in Staffordshire and West Mercia were lower than the national average of 29%.

Warwickshire is roughly in line with the national trend for the fall in overall crime and violent crime, which were down by 4% and 3% respectively.

But the West Mercia, Staffordshire and West Midlands forces all saw drops of 10% in overall recorded crime and Staffordshire and West Mercia saw violent crime fall by 11%.

The West Midlands force saw violent crime fall by 13%.

• West Midlands Police sees sharp shoplifting spike

Warwickshire is also an outlier in crimes classed as sexual offences, with an 8% rise compared to the previous 12 months, while Staffordshire recorded a 3% fall and West Mercia a 10% fall.

The number of robberies in the Warwickshire force area was up by 14%, which was more than twice the national average and notably different to Staffordshire and West Mercia which saw falls on 10% and 11% respectively.

Nationally, the number of recorded drug offences stayed the same, compared to the previous 12 months, but Warwickshire saw an increase of 11% and West Mercia of 8%.

Staffordshire saw the number of recorded drugs offences fall by 22% in the same period.

But Staffordshire was also the only force in the West Midlands to see burglaries from homes go up, with an increase of 14%.

The ONS figures also put the numbers in context however and the population of 607,600 in the Warwickshire area is roughly half that of the population in the West Mercia area, or the Staffordshire area.

Compared to population size, both it and West Mercia have among the lowest overall crime rates in the country.

West Merica Police described the latest figures as "encouraging" overall and noted the big fall in the number of burglaries and bicycle thefts among others.

Local Policing Chief Superintendent, Edd Williams, also said: “There have been rises in some areas and we will continue to look at these and ensure appropriate action, in partnership with other agencies, is taken to address these."

Staffordshire Police welcomed the fall in overall crime and violent crime in its area.

Referring to the rise in burglaries, it said: "We are prioritising these offences and attending every scene of burglary unless there is an exceptional and common-sense reason for us not to."