Targeted Policing Sees Knife Robberies Fall in England’s Worst-Hit Areas

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Robberies involving knives have significantly dropped in key crime hotspots across England following months of targeted police action, according to new figures released by the Home Office. The decline follows the establishment of a specialist task force last October, which deployed high-tech tools and tactical policing to address surging knife-related offences.

The data shows that in the year to June 2025, the West Midlands saw a 25% decrease in knife-enabled robberies. Other forces also recorded notable improvements, with British Transport Police seeing a 24% drop and the Metropolitan Police in London reporting a 2% decline. Only Greater Manchester experienced a slight increase, with cases rising by 4%. Overall, the seven police areas targeted, responsible for 70% of such crimes nationally, saw a collective reduction of 6% over the past year.

The seven areas included in the initiative are the Metropolitan Police, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Avon and Somerset, South Yorkshire, and British Transport Police. These forces were supported through a combination of technology and frontline resources, including drones, detection dogs, and knife arches (walk-through metal detectors commonly used at public venues). These measures formed part of the broader government strategy to disrupt and deter violent offences.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who launched the crackdown last year, attributed the results to the dedicated taskforces operating in these regions. “When we came to office, knife-enabled robbery was increasing at a concerning rate,” she said. “But we have now started to drive numbers of those offences down through the work of our dedicated taskforces, and as a result, we have also seen the first small reduction in overall knife crime for four years.”

Ms Cooper added that while progress has been made, the government plans to “supercharge” efforts with further targeted interventions aimed at sustaining and accelerating these downward trends.

Between 2023 and 2024, there had initially been a 14% rise in knife-enabled robberies across the seven forces. The new figures suggest the intervention has helped reverse that trend. The government’s response has emphasised practical policing and intelligence-led strategies rather than solely relying on legislative reform.

While the statistics show early signs of progress, authorities acknowledge that further work is required. The Home Secretary’s commitment to more “smart and targeted interventions” suggests future strategies will continue to combine traditional enforcement with modern technology to reduce knife crime and protect communities.

As of now, the government has not outlined specific expansions of the task force initiative, but its success may serve as a model for similar approaches in tackling other types of violent crime across the UK.