Residents across the West Midlands are saving lives by staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic - and new figures show they’re also helping cut crime.

There was a 41 per cent fall in serious violence and 34 per cent drop in burglaries last week compared to the same seven-day period in 2019 – and less crime means the force can dedicate more officers to keeping people safe during these difficult times. Assistant Chief Constable, Jayne Meir, said:

"We’re grateful to the vast, vast majority of our communities for following the advice and staying at home to stop the spread of the disease and save lives. With more people at home we’ve also seen a significant reduction in traditional crimes such as burglaries.

"It means with fewer crimes we’re able to use more resources on the streets, engaging with the public and encouraging everyone to maintain the Government’s measures.

"There’s also been a lot work over the last 12 months to tackle crimes which impact on people across the West Midlands. The latest annual figures show we’ve had a 15 per cent drop in house burglaries, 13 per cent for vehicle offences and six per cent fewer robberies.

“However, people need to be mindful there are some callous individuals who may look to use the pandemic to commit crime, sending out malicious emails in a bid to get banking details or hack computers or by posing as bogus police or health officials to access homes. So please still be vigilant.”

Officers are on patrol educating anyone who is unclear what’s being asked of them, and encouraging compliance with the government’s instruction. They now have powers to disperse groups, instruct people to go home and issue fines to those who ignore advice and cause concern amongst communities.

You can alert police to any serious compliance breaches by messaging through the Live Chat facility at west-midlands.police.uk.