Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands (PCC), Simon Foster, has praised the hard work of West Midlands Police, after a significant fall in knife crime was announced, including a notable reduction in knife-enabled robberies.
The news comes after the PCC welcomed Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to Lloyd House earlier this week, for a briefing on the ongoing action to tackle knife crime and reduce serious youth violence across the West Midlands.
The latest figures reveal that knife crime involving under-25s has fallen by 15% since April 1, building on an 18% reduction throughout the 2024/25 financial year. The West Midlands has also achieved a drop of more than 25% in knife robberies, the biggest fall of all the seven police forces that are part of a dedicated government taskforce – a fall larger than that in Avon and Somerset, Greater Manchester, Metropolitan, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and British Transport Police.
PCC Simon Foster said: “This is very welcome news and demonstrates the relentless commitment, dedication and hard work of the officers and staff of West Midlands Police. Tackling knife crime and reducing violence has always been one of my top priorities, and it is a testament to the force’s action and the essential investment in our wider prevention work, taking place within our Violence Reduction Partnership, that we are seeing these welcome reductions.
“I am particularly pleased to see the significant drop in knife-enabled robberies, which is the largest reduction among all the forces in the government taskforce. However, while these figures are encouraging, there is absolutely no room whatsoever for any complacency. One victim of knife crime, is one too many.
“I will continue to hold West Midlands Police to account, to ensure this positive trend is maintained and that we continue the constant and unremitting action required, to prevent and tackle knife crime, keep people safe and secure and save lives.”
The Home Secretary, Ms Cooper, commented: “These are devastating crimes that really destroy families and we need to make sure we keep up this progress.”
The PCC remains committed to working with West Midlands Police and partners across the West Midlands to prevent knife crime, protect young people, and hold offenders to account.
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