Knife crime rises by a third in the Black Country in three years

Since 2013 West Midlands Police has investigated 2,026 crimes involving knives in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton, with the number of incidents rising by 33 per cent since 2013 – just three years. The figures have prompted WMP to issue a plea for communities to 'come together' in a bid to stop people from carrying knives.

The incidents include the fatal stabbing of Mircea Gheorghe Cozmiuc, aged 23, who last week was found with stab wounds in Carter Road, Wolverhampton.

He later died of his injuries.

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, who successfully campaigned alongside the Express & Star to change the law on zombie knives, said he and the police are doing everything in their power 'in the war against knife crime'.

Across the four local authority areas West Midlands Police has investigated more than 2,000 crimes involving knives since 2013, according to new figures given to the Express & Star via a Freedom of Information request.

The incidents include a brawl near the Britannia Hotel in Wolverhampton city centre last year, and a fatal stabbing at an internet cafe in Smethwick in April.

The figures have been described as extremely concerning by a Black Country MP, who has called for people to help police get knives off the region's streets.

It comes despite the force bringing in a number of measures aimed at reducing knife crime such as knife surrender bins, which have been installed in 13 areas, including West Bromwich High Street, Heath Town and Whitmore Reans.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Parnell said: "Our Precious Lives project has now reached more than 100,000 pupils at schools across the region with a powerful message steering young people away from knife crime and 'de-glamorising' gang culture.

"Knife crime covers a range of offences from possession of a weapon to causing injury; the majority of which involve possession rather than causing physical harm.

"There is never any excuse to carry such a weapon and we encourage everyone to report any incidents to us so we can investigate the circumstances.

"It is important to stress the responsibility for tackling knife crime sits with all of us ? police officers, parents, teachers, licensees, friends ? and it is vital we all work together to change behaviours and stop people carrying these potentially deadly weapons."

In Sandwell there has been more than 700 alleged crimes where a knife was involved, including 253 last year. The 2015 figure represents a 56 per cent increase in reported incidents since 2013.

The figure was 546 in Wolverhampton, with last year's 164 incidents marking a 12 per cent rise in two years. In Walsall there have been 407 reports of knife crime, rising 10 per cent, while Dudley's 111 incidents in 2015 were almost double the 2013 figure. The total for Dudley borough over three years is 351.

So far this year there have been 383 reports of knife crime in the Black Country.

Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden said: "These figures are extremely concerning. . It is important that we support the police, both in their efforts to educate young people about the dangers, and in clamping down on knife crime in general."

The force investigated 487 incidents involving the use of a knife in 2013. Last year the figure rose to 646 .

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, said: ""These figures do not show the complete picture as they refer to just initial reports of knives, but I want to reassure the public that both myself and West Midlands Police are doing all we can in the war against knife crime."

Just this month Mircea Gheorghe Cozmiuc, aged 23, was found with stab wounds in Carter Road, in Wolverhampton, and subsequently died of his injuries.

In July a 29-year-old man was stabbed in the neck in Saltwells Road, Netherton, while last month 41-year-old father-of-two Simon Johnson died after being stabbed at his home in Cradley Road.

In December last year, 56-year-old Glyn Evans was found stabbed to death at a home in Walsall Street, Willenhall.