Jay Singh-Sohal

Solihull borough has seen a significant rise in crime since Labour took charge of policing, with total annual recorded crime now up by 66% compared to twelve years ago.

The increase means that between January and December 2023 there were a total of 19,232 crimes committed across the borough.

The alarming findings follow a Freedom of Information request and analysis undertaken by local campaigner and former Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) candidate Capt. Jay Singh-Sohal.

The full figures now released by West Midlands Police show that between 2012 to 2023, an extra 7,615 crimes have been committed across the 12 different offence classes, which includes Theft, Vehicle Offences and Sexual Offences.

The largest increases, in percentage terms, over this period are:

• Robbery, up by 956%
• Weapons Possession, up 353%
• Violence against the person, up 299%
• Public Order Offences, up 283%

By numbers, the most significant crime increases are in:

• Violence against the person, up by 4,949 recorded incidents
• Vehicle Offences, up by 1,041 recorded incidents
• Public Order Offences, up by 1,028 recorded incidents
  

During this time, the PCC has been a Birmingham-based Labour politician. Campaigners say the increases in crime shows that the role and current postholder are ineffective in taking action and addressing residents’ concerns.

In 2021, Jay Singh-Sohal, stood for the PCC role with a pledge to stop the police station closure in Solihull, and to bring in more resourcing to tackle local crime.  He had the support of just under 40,000 voters in Solihull borough, coming second to Labour in the regional ballot.

Jay has since been articulating the case for the Police and Crime Commissioner role to be merged with that of the West Midlands Mayor so that there can be better leadership over policing through the greater number of policy levers found in the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Jay Singh-Sohal says:

“I hear regularly from Solihull residents who are concerned about increasing crime and these numbers reveal just how ineffective PCCs have been over many years in tacking rising rates. 

“Our residents are paying more for policing in the borough through their council tax but miss out on localised resources to tackle issues such as knife crime, robbery and anti-social behaviour.  And Solihull police station is still being closed under Labour’s plans.

“Merging the role into the West Midlands Mayoralty this year would guarantee a robust and direct approach through the devolved policy levers that the mayor has to make a real difference and get crime down.”

Cllr Michael Gough, Chairman of Solihull Conservatives, says:

“Solihull residents will soon see their local policing tax rise to £202.55 for a Band D property, helping push the budget of West Midlands Police to a record amount of £780m.  This is a significant resource which should be going towards tackling crime in the borough and across the region.  Instead under the leadership of a Birmingham Police and Crime Commissioner the force has been found underperforming and put into special measures. 

“My constituents want reassurances that West Midlands Police can do better when it comes to investigating crime.  I believe this will occur with better political oversight once the role is combined with that of the West Midlands Mayor.”

The Government approved the merger of the PCC and WM Mayor’s office under the Levelling Up White Paper in 2023.  Since then, a consultation has taken place asking West Midlands residents for their views.  The next step will see the issue put through Parliament, which could mean that Solihull residents vote for a Mayor with policing powers in May 2024.

Ends.

Link to the FOI request: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/annual_recorded_crime_in_solihul#outgoing-1588992

Below: FOI released crime statistics from 2012 compared to 2023, showing percent increases by crime category as well as the total number of crimes committed over the past 12 years.