Knife crime falls in West Midlands over the past six years

Offences have gone down by around half involving the possession of a knife or offensive weapon resulting in a caution or sentence, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Latest statistics show that there were 870 crimes resulting in cautions or sentences in the 12 months to March this year.

This compares with 1,796 over the same period from 2008/9 according to the government department.

The 870 crimes show a fall from 935 on the previous year 2013/14.

MoJ officials say there are currently 36 knife crimes per 100,000 population every year in the West Midlands.

This is lower than areas like Cleveland at 55 per 100,000, London which is 47 per 100,000 and Durham at 45 per 100,000.

Detective Chief Inspector Kath Davis, West Midlands Police's lead for knife crime, said: "West Midlands Police has invested heavily in campaigns and operations to tackle knife crime across the region over the past ten years, which has led to a significant decrease over time in the number of offences recorded."

It comes as the latest stage of a knife amnesty campaign is taking place in Bilston.

Knife banks have been installed in the the town as part of the British Ironwork Centre's 'Save A Life, Surrender A Knife' campaign.

The British Ironwork Centre, based in Shropshire, plans to use the knives to create a monument commemorating the lives of stabbing victims at London's Trafalgar Square.

The family of stabbing victim Christina Edkins also backed the campaign when a similar knife bank was installed in Perry Barr, Birmingham.

The 16–year–old schoolgirl was fatally stabbed in Birmingham while travelling on a bus to Leasowes High School in Halesowen in 2013.

Her killer, Phillip Simelane, of Walsall, was sentenced to an indeterminate hospital order after a court heard he was paranoid schizophrenic.