17,000 youngsters are victims of violent crime in West Midlands

Information provided by West Midlands Police under the Freedom of Information Act shows from the beginning of 2012 until July this year, 17,400 people aged 10 to 15 have been victims of violent crime.

It is a number that has increased in each of those age groups over the past three years.

The figures show between January 2012 and July this year, 1,203 10-year-olds have been victims of violent crime, 1,819 11-year-olds, 2,576 12-year-olds, 3,317 13-year-olds, 4,010 14-year-olds, and 4,475 15-year-olds.

When providing the figures, the force's FOI unit noted that numerous offences are recorded under violent crime as per the home office definition.

However, the main three broad categories are violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.

It comes just weeks after a video of a 16-year-old girl attacking two teenagers in Northfield went viral, with more than six million views on Facebook.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted robbery and assault when she appeared at Birmingham Youth Court earlier this month.

She told police she could not remember anything about the late-night incident, having downed a bottle of vodka in the hours beforehand, and was 'disgusted' with herself after being shown a video of what happened.

In June, the force launched a violence prevention alliance, the first of its kind in England, which will include a new injury surveillance system that will provide information on the numbers and types of violent injuries, the groups of people at most risk, and common locations such as areas of the county or settings like the home or pubs.

The alliance has been set up with funding from West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, who said: "Violence blights the lives of too many people, by working together across the public and voluntary sector and targeting the root cause, we can make the West Midlands a safer place to live and work in."

A similar initiative in Cardiff saw violence-related injuries at A&E drop 40 per cent between 2002 and 2007.

David Thompson, West Midlands Police Deputy Chief Constable, said: "We are committed to tackling violence in our communities, not just when it becomes a critical issue, but where the potential for harm is identified."

"We cannot do this alone. The West Midlands violence prevention alliance underlines our commitment to working in partnership with other agencies to keep our communities safe and prevent them from harm."