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1,000 crimes committed in Walsall town centre - in just three months

More than 1,000 crimes have been committed in one town centre in just three months, shocking new figures show.

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Police have had to deal with 1,000 crimes in just three months

Latest police data shows 1,016 crimes were committed in the St Matthew's ward of Walsall between January and March this year.

The figures also reveal that, on average, two incidents of shoplifting take place each day.

Other crimes committed in the period include robbery, burglary and anti-social behaviour.

In total 1,027 crimes were committed between January and March last year, 11 more than were committed in the same period this year.

The figures come as Walsall Council is looking to introduce a public spaces protection order (PSPO) in the town centre to outlaw street drinking and a number of other offences, including aggressive begging.

Councillor Mohammed Nazir said the ward has seen some violent crimes recently and has called for something to be done.

He said: "One crime committed is one crime too many. We have had some quite violent crimes in the St Matthews recently, we had the mugging of young people and the mugging of a single mother in a quite residential area.

"There is a few incidents there and it is clear something needs to be done. That is not to say crime is not committed anywhere else, it is being committed all across the borough.

"But it is clear the town centre is getting more than most and something needs to be done about it by the council working in partnership with the police. Everyone can help, not just the council."

Asked about the proposed PSPO, councillor Nazir added: "Any measures taken to address the crime problem is a step forward. Statistics show that people are more likely to commit a crime when they have had a drink so I think this new PSPO would help to lower the number of crimes."

Of the 1,016 crimes committed, there were 244 anti-social behaviour offences, 184 shoplifting incidents, 151 violent and sexual offences, 96 burglaries, 71 criminal damage and arson incidents, 62 vehicle crimes, 40 public order offences, 30 drug offences, 26 robberies, 23 theft from people, seven people caught possessing a weapon and five bicycle thefts. There were also 71 offences classified as 'other theft' and six as 'other crime.