'We can't solve this on our own' - Police react as shocking levels of knife crime in Birmingham unveiled

Knife crime has become one of the biggest issues across the UK in recent years - with Birmingham being hit hard as the city reacts with horror to the tragic murder of Muhammad Hassam Ali in Victoria Square on Saturday (January 20).

Police say Muhammad was killed in a 'tragic case of mistaken identity' as they investigate how the 17 year-old came to be fatally wounded by the Council House in broad daylight.

The tragic incident follows a number of fatal stabbings over the last 18 months. Ex-Stratford Town footballer Cody Fisher was stabbed and killed while inside Crane nightclub in Digbeth on Boxing Day in 2022. The murder trial is currently taking place at Birmingham Crown Court.

Now alarming new figures have been unveiled which show that around 10 knife crimes have occurred each day in the West Midlands since 2020. West Midlands Police says: "We can't solve this on our own."

Knife crime figures in West Midlands

A Freedom of Information request by law company PersonalInjuryClaimsUK.org.uk to West Midlands Police has revealed that 6,185 knife crimes occurred from November 2020 to October 2023, with 11,286 in total in the West Midlands from November 2020 to October 2023.

The figures showed that more knife crimes happened in Birmingham during this time than anywhere else in the region, with the city accounting for 55% of all knife crime incidents reported in the West Midlands, acording to the figures.

The data also showed that since January, more knife crimes occurred in March than any other month, when around 11.4% of incidents were recorded by West Midlands Police. Other months that had high rates of knife crime included January (11.1%) followed by October (10.9%) and May (10.5%). 

It comes after Ministry of Justice figures previously revealed that 655 first-time knife criminals in the West Midlands went through the criminal justice system in the year ending March 2023. They account for 68% of all those found guilty of knife and offensive weapon offences.

Why young people are getting involved in knife crime

Darnish Amraz, a youth care worker based in Aston, Birmingham, has been awarded an MBE for his work helping young people in Birmingham. He believes knife crime has always been a problem but is getting highlighted more now. Although he provided some insight into why younger people are getting involved in knife crime.

Drill music especially, has been accused of glorifying gang culture. Speaking to BirminghamWorld, he said:“From experience, there are younger people from the age of 11 up who are listening to rap music and there are a lot of young people from that age making rap themselves. It’s a trend but I didn t know anything about rap until I was 16 or 17 as we didn’t have access to social media then. People listen to it from a younger age.”

He said it’s vital that young people today ared educated to know the consequences they could face being involved in knife crime and gangs.

“Education is important because it will make them more aware of the consequences they would face for these crimes, said Darnish. “At the moment many of these youngsters won’t know what the repercussions will be for their actions.”

'We can't solve this on our own'

Birmingham’s Neighbourhood Policing Chief Inspector Mark Lacey, said: “Our investigation into the tragic murder of Muhammad continues. His death has left his family heartbroken, and we are working tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice.

"While we have seen reductions in serious youth violence in the city centre in recent times, clearly there are people out there who think it’s acceptable to carry a knife. Carrying a knife is never the right thing to do. There are serious, life-changing consequences for people who make the choice to carry one.

“Every time you do, you run the risk of arrest, or being involved in a serious crime which can have deadly consequences. It can ruin your life, and the lives of countless others who may be affected by your actions.

"The police can’t solve this issue on our own. This is a shared responsibility across the West Midlands, and policing works closely with partners through the Violence Reduction Partnership. This means together we can focus on the causes of violence and the reasons why young people get drawn into a life of crime to deter and divert young people from criminal and anti-social activities.

“In Birmingham, our work includes having the dedicated Project Guardian taskforce who target serious youth violence with dedicated patrols in key areas. We’ve also been part of a national pilot which gives officers additional powers for tackling knife crime, including serious violence reduction orders.

“Our partnerships teams have specialist officers who are in schools daily, offering additional support to deter youngsters from violent or criminal behaviour. However, our work is ongoing and it's important we all play a part in continuing to reduce violence."