Knife crime in West Mercia Police area soars by more than a third
Knife crime has soared by more than a third in the West Mercia Police area – hitting a record high.
According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), crimes involving a blade or sharp instrument rose to 733 for the year to March, an increase of 37 per cent.
It marks one of the biggest increases for any force area in England and Wales, and is the highest figure on record for the region since the ONS started compiling the data in 2010.
It March 2014 ,West Mercia Police recorded 267 knife crimes. Since then the figure has continued to rise and is now 175 per cent higher.
The knife crime rate has also risen over the past year, from 42 per 100,000 population to 57, although it remains below the national average of 82 knife crimes per 100,000 people.
It comes after West Mercia Police arrested a man on suspicion of murder after musician Colton Bryan was stabbed to death in Redditch.
Across the country crimes involving a knife or sharp instrument rose to 46,265 for the year to March – the highest number on record.
Overall crime in the West Mercia force area was stable, with 87,323 crimes recorded. They included 10 murders and 34,518 violent crimes.
Burglary
There were 953 possession of weapons offences – up 13 per cent – and 2,309 drug offences, a rise of 10 per cent.
There was a slight increase in the number of crimes involving firearms to 105, while violence against the person went up by 11 per cent and stalking and harassment rose by 17 per cent.
Public order offences rose by 19 per cent to 5,420.
Residential burglary fell by 17 per cent to 4,488, theft was down 10 per cent to 29,046 and the number of sexual offences fell by six per cent to 3,402.
West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion, said: "I am committed to building a safe and secure West Mercia.
Initiatives
"It is encouraging to see that reports of residential burglary have fallen significantly; initiatives I have funded, such as We Don’t Buy Crime, and the increased uptake of SmartWater across the region may have positively impacted on the reduction.
"But, it is vital that we continue to build on this positive trend by directing resources into acquisitive crime prevention.
"It is clear that there is work to do to tackle violent crime in West Mercia. These crimes are often connected with the illicit drug trade and serious organised crime.
"I have been committed to funding initiatives that divert young people away from criminality and criminal exploitation by gangs that seek to recruit them, and tackling the root causes of criminality.
"I am reassured that West Mercia Police is committed to tackling violent crime, and I will continue to ensure they have the resources to keep our communities safe and secure.”
In the year to March in England and Wales there were just over five million crimes committed, a rise of one per cent, including 683 murders.
