Tackling violence, including domestic abuse and sexual violence
Increase in crime
Total recorded crime in Coventry increased in April 2021 to March 2022 to 40,059 from 31,309 in 2019/20. This is a 27.9% increase; a much larger increase than in 2020/21 which was only 9.5%. In 2021/22 Coventry ranked third highest out of the eight policing areas, accounting for 11.1% of the West Midlands force’s total. November 2021 saw the highest number of offences recorded in Coventry for the year.
Whilst these statistics might appear to be alarming, the increase in crime is not unexpected. The previous comparative year consisted of substantial periods of time where our citizens were in ‘lockdown’ due to the COVID-19 epidemic and therefore comparing one year against the other is not helpful. Coventry’s population is roughly 11% of the total West Midlands force area population and therefore the levels of crime are in line with this figure.
The top three offences for Coventry in 2021/22 were Common Assault and Battery (accounted for 11.6%), Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm (ABH) (6.0%) and Harassment (5.5%).
Reduction in youth offending
Coventry has seen more of a marked decline compared to the current family group and national comparators. This has given opportunity for the Service to have an earlier offer to children at risk of entering the youth justice system. The first-time entrants to youth justice system (rate per 100,000 young people aged 10-17) has reduced to 112 in 2021/22 from 230 in 2020/21.
Hate crime
Police in Coventry take hate crime very seriously and respond to and investigate all reported hate crime in the city.
West Midland Police (WMP) recorded 1,112 hate crimes in Coventry in 2021/22.
Coventry ranked fourth out of eight West Midlands policing areas for hate crime, accounting for 9.2% of hate crime across the force – which is low considering Coventry’s population represents 11% of the West Midlands population.
We have continued to deliver training courses to raise awareness of how to report incidents of Hate Crime. Targeted merchandise with details of how to report have been distributed across the city. Staff in family hubs have been trained on reporting incidents and supporting victims in making a report. We are currently running awareness training around the “Stand by ME” campaign that gives anyone the tools to identify discrimination & how to support victims if they witness an incident.
Domestic abuse
The number of domestic abuse (crime and non-crime) reports increased from 10,203 in 2020/21 to 10,957 in 2021/22. The split of crimes and non-crimes was 7,303 and 3,654 respectively. The most common offences titles were Common Assault and Battery, Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm and Malicious Communications.
Female victims accounted for most domestic abuse crimes and non-crimes (75.0%). However, male victims have seen a proportionately higher increase compared to the previous year (18.4% increase for males, 5.2% increase for females).
Additional support for victims of domestic abuse and their children
The Council is making progress in developing and embedding the provisions required for supporting fleeing victims of domestic violence and their children across all functions to comply with its obligations under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which became law on 30th April 2021.
This has included: Appointing a multi-agency Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board to advise the Council; Assessing the capacity required to fully support victims of domestic violence and their children in safe accommodation and developing, delivering, and evaluating a local strategy.
Work is also in place to extend the “Ask for Angela” scheme, which enables people who feel unsafe, vulnerable, or threatened can discreetly seek help by approaching venue staff and asking them for ‘Angela’, from pubs and bars to shops and retail as well.