Knife crime: "there is an issue", says West Midlands Police
New figures show the West Midlands has the highest rate of knife crime offences in England and Wales.
Last updated 1st May 2024
The man leading efforts by police in the West Midlands to tackle knife crime has said "there is an issue" that "needs to be addressed."
It comes after new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the region recorded the highest rate of knife crime offences in England and Wales.
Offences involving a blade per 100,000 of the population, in the West Midlands in 2023, totalled 180, up from 167 in 2022.
The London Metropolitan Police force total was 165.
The figures come a fortnight after we brought together bereaved families, who have lost loved ones to knife crime, and described the current situation in the West Midlands as an "epidemic".
150 fewer offences so far in 2024
In response to the latest figures, Detective Chief Inspector John Askew, lead for knife crime at West Midlands Police told us: "We are one of the youngest cities in the country. Knife crime in the West Midlands is recorded as any offences whereby a knife is either used, carried, threatened, or the victim believes a knife is being carried.
"Therefore we have a large number of offences that fall into that category. Last year we saw an increase of around 300 offences in knife crime.
"Thankfully, for the start of this year, we've actually seen a slight reduction, so 150 offences less than the same time last year. But that doesn't mean we're taking our eye off the ball."
Hotspot policing
DCI Askew continued: "The fact that we do have a large amount of knife crimes occur in the West Midlands, I agree that there is an issue with knife crime that needs to be addressed."
"We've adopted a hotspot policing methodology, which essentially means we've used analysis of where knife crime regularly occurs.
"We then use officers to patrol those areas and we also have a dedicated taskforce called Guardian taskforce, made up of around 40 officers, who also go into those areas.
"Since December, they've made over 250 arrests, recovered over 100 weapons. They are in there working alongside partner agencies in those areas in order to combat knife crime."
As well as their ongoing work, West Midlands Police will be taking part in Operation Sceptre this month, a national campaign to tackle knife crime.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers of knife crime and to encourage people to surrender any knives they may have in their possession.