Crime is down in West Mercia - dropping significantly more than across the country

The latest crime figures have been released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), showing the number of offences recorded by each of the police forces across the country.

West Mercia's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) John Campion has welcomed the data, which shows a fall of nine per cent in crimes recorded by the region's police force.

PCC John Campion said: “As PCC, I am focused on ensuring the public are not only safe but feel safe too.

“This significant drop in crime, going against the national picture, demonstrates the proactive work West Mercia Police is doing to tackle the bread-and-butter issues that communities care about.

“There is no room for complacency, and I remain concerned about the prevalence of violence against women and girls in our society.

“That’s why I am committed to working with the Chief Constable to build on these foundations by delivering more for the communities of West Mercia.”

The official ONS data for individual police forces, which covers the end of December 2023 the the end of December 2024, shows an overall drop in recorded crime across England of three per cent, with West Mercia dropping by nine per cent.

That comes as the Crime Survey of England and Wales, which is a face-to-face survey that asks people aged 16 and over about their experiences of crime in the past year, listed a national 14 per cent rise in crime over the past year.

The ONS figures for West Mercia Police show drops in violent crime of seven per cent, in robbery and theft of 13 per cent and and 12 per cent respectively, and 23 per cent for burglary offences.

Sex offences dropped by one per cent, while vehicle offences were down 11 per cent, and bike thefts fell by 13 per cent.

Criminal damage and arson were down by eight per cent, while public order offences fell by 18 per cent.

There was a major jump in death or serious injury and unlawful driving cases, going up by 45 per cent.

Weapon possession offences were also up by one per cent while there was no change in the number of drug offences.

Mr Campion's office has also provided its own figures, cross-referencing the data with own internal force data, which a representative said provided a more accurate picture of crime in the region.

The figures show falls in a number of offences, as well as a significant rise in some sexual offences.

A statement from his office highlighting the figures said: "Bucking the national rise in crime of 14 per cent, the picture in West Mercia is positive with a six per cent fall in overall crime and reductions in key crime types.

"From December 2023 to December 2024 there have been decreases in shoplifting - five per cent, residential burglary - 22 per cent, serious violence offences - 10 per cent, theft from the person - four per cent, and vehicle offences - six per cent.

"Whilst rape offences have fallen by two per cent, other sexual offences have risen by ten per cent."