Knife crime falls sharply in West Midlands despite rise in homicides, figures show
Knife crime in the West Midlands has fallen by nearly a fifth over the past year, according to new figures, even as the region recorded a rise in the number of homicides.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows West Midlands Police recorded 4,116 knife crime offences in the year to September 2025, down 18% from 4,997 in the previous 12 months – a reduction of 881 incidents.
The force was one of 33 out of 44 police forces in England and Wales to record a year-on-year fall in knife crime, with some of the biggest reductions seen in large urban areas.
Despite the fall in knife-related offences, the number of police-recorded homicides in the West Midlands rose slightly over the same period.
A total of 34 homicides were recorded in the year to September 2025, up from 29 the year before – an increase of five.
Funding and dedicated resources continue to be targeted at reducing knife crime for West Midlands Police as the region has seen some of the highest knife crime offences per 1,000 population. However, the force claims it has continued to see reductions in the last 12 months.
Acting Chief Constable Scott Green said: "The results speak for themselves, with continued crime reductions in the West Midlands and this thanks to a lot of hard work that has been maintained by our officers and staff. We are doing what the public expect us to do and what we are rightly held accountable for - arresting people, solving crimes and helping people feel safer.
"Over the last 12 months, we’ve arrested over 60,000 people and the number of positive outcomes – this includes where people have been charged or cautioned for an offence – have risen to just under 15%.
"As well as crime continuing to fall, we are delivering a first-class service answering 999 emergency calls within an average of two seconds and 101 non-emergency calls in 25 seconds.
There has been much focus on call handling targets in policing this week and I am very pleased to say that we are already exceeding these targets and providing an exceptional service across the West Midlands to local people.”
The force also states that in 2025, they took 720,140 calls to 999, with an average time to answer of just two seconds, and sometimes as low as one second - down from 57 seconds in summer of 2022. 830,398 calls to 101 in the same year, with an average time to answer of just 25 seconds.
Green added: "Despite these latest reductions, we must continue to work hard to ensure there are even fewer victims of crime in the future - we recognise that any offence is one too many. We are committed to continuing to do more to protect people from harm and focus on tackling the crimes that impact on people and their lives."
Nationally, knife crime fell across most of the country, while police-recorded homicides declined in nearly half of all forces.
Across England and Wales, police-recorded knife crime fell in 33 forces, increased in 10, and remained unchanged in one, according to the ONS figures.
Meanwhile, homicides fell in 21 forces, rose in 15, and showed no change in eight.
The figures are based on crimes recorded by police and cover the 12 months to September 2025.
The ONS said the data highlights continued progress in reducing knife crime in many areas, although patterns vary between forces and offence types.
Billy Gazard, of the ONS, said: “While the crime survey paints a relatively stable picture, many aspects of violent crime and theft recorded by the police have fallen in the past 12 months.
“Homicide and gun crime are at the lowest levels seen this century, while knife crime has also decreased.
“The majority of police forces have seen knife crime fall in the past year, including the larger urban Greater Manchester, Metropolitan and West Midlands areas.
“This is supported by NHS data, which continue to show a decrease in hospital admissions for assault by a sharp object.”
Reacting to the figures, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “We are having real success tackling the crimes that terrorise communities.
“But the crimes that tear at the fabric of communities, like shop theft and shop robbery, continue to rise and we must do more.
“That is why we are putting 13,000 more neighbourhood officers on the beat, and have invested £2 billion more in forces across the country since we took office.”
Under policing reforms announced by the Home Secretary on Monday, the number of police forces will be slashed and new, larger forces will be divided into local areas corresponding with cities, towns and boroughs.
A National Police Service (NPS) will also be created to tackle serious and complex crimes such as terrorism and fraud, which is hoped will lift the burden on local forces and enable them to focus on day-to-day policing.
Ministers have already committed to recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood policing officers by 2029, with 3,000 recruits expected to be in post by spring this year.
