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West Midlands Police Federation

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Crime rates rise across the Force area

14 November 2018

Crime in the West Midlands is on the rise – with a 21 per cent in violence offences and a worrying 18 per cent rise in offences with a knife or bladed instrument.

The latest figures are from the Office for National Statistics, year ending June 2018, and show there was an 18 per cent increase in crime involving a knife or sharp instrument – bringing total number of offences to 2,965.

In the same time period, violence against the person offences rose by 21 per cent to 61,124 offences.

The figures show that violent crime and offences with knives are rising at a faster rate in the West Midlands force area than across England as a whole, where the average increase in knife and sharp instrument offences was 12 per cent,

West Midlands Police Federation secretary Steve Grange said the latest figures were incredibly concerning and paint a bleak picture of the current state of policing.

“The statistics, while not entirely surprising, are still incredibly worrying. They show there has been an increase in violent offence – the most serious crimes – and it is yet more proof that the Government’s cuts are having a real impact on our communities,” he says.

And he adds: “It also means that our officers are being put in dangerous situations more often as they attend more and more jobs where there is mention that someone may have a knife or other bladed weapon. With fewer officers, the threat is heightened even more.

“It is time this Government started to re-invest in policing so we can do our jobs – so we can tackle violent offenders and protect the public more effectively.”

More details will appear in the December/January edition of your Federation magazine.

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