More than 10,000 victims of knife and gun crime in West Midlands within three years, figures show

The figures, released by West Midlands Police, show there were 9,778 victims of knife crime in the region between 2019 and 2021, while nearly 1,000 people found themselves victims of crimes involving firearms.

Weapons were used in almost 50 murders and more than 70 rapes recorded by the police force over the three year period.

Thousands were victims of assaults and robberies by armed perpetrators, according to the figures released under a freedom of information request.

While victims of knife crime fell slightly from 3,538 in 2019 to 3,178 last year, those who became victims of firearm offences increased more than 50 per cent over the same timeframe – from 265 to 415.

It comes as Zane Smart, 15, was fatally stabbed in The Haymarket area of Pendeford, in Wolverhampton, last week.

A 16-year-old has been charged with murder, while a second teenager, also aged 16, has also been arrested on suspicion of murder but released under investigation.

It has been the latest in a string of violent attacks in the region.

Earlier this year, 17-year-old Connor Harper, from Rowley Regis, was shot three times in the back at Homer Hill Park, Cradley, with the gunman said to have fired from a car with blacked out windows.

A 64-year-old woman was also stabbed on a street in Walsall near to a school by a 66-year-old man, while a 15-year-old boy was stabbed outside Wolverhampton’s bus station following a fight.

And the commander of Walsall Police Chief Superintendent Phil Dolby described officers being forced to fight for their lives while dealing with drunken violence in Walsall.

Meanwhile two teenagers were left with serious stab injuries after an incident in Stourbridge in March.

The figures from West Midlands Police also revealed that the youngest knife crime victim last year was just 10-years-old, while an 11-year-old child was the youngest to be arrested for possessing an offensive weapon in 2021.

West Midlands Police say victims are offered help.

A spokesman said: "Victims of knife crime can get support from their own GP and we also ask people if they would like the help of victim support."

Operation Sceptre ran last month which saw police services across the UK highlighting the risks that carrying a bladed weapon can bring, as well as targeting offenders who use and carry knives.

Halesowen Business Improvement District saw it as an ideal opportunity to work with police, which involved Street Watch patrols and weapon sweeps.

Town centre manager Vicky Rogers, along with police officers, also visited licensed premises in the town and distributed hand held metal detectors that could be used by door staff as a part of conditional right to entry.

Elsewhere between February and April, police made more than 20 arrests, seized weapons and recovered stolen items as part of an ongoing crackdown on youth violence in Wolverhampton.

Inspector Sophie Clement, of Wolverhampton Police, said: "We want to deter young people from ruining their lives by getting involved in crime at a young age. It can lead to criminal convictions and even losing freedoms by being put into custody."

West Midlands Police says its chief constable and the region's police and crime commissioner have pledged there will be ‘a conversation with every child,’ in the West Midlands about knife crime, while the life or knife campaign encourages children to talk about knife crime with parents, teachers and peers.

For more information on where to report or talk to someone about knives and where you can anonymously dispose of knives visit lifeorknife.west-midlands.police.uk