Knife crime and violent offences are falling after a huge rise in overtime police patrols

INITIATIVE TARGETS HOTSPOT AREAS, WITH 8% FALL IN OVERALL CRIME

- By MAIL REPORTER

POLICE chiefs have revealed big reductions in knife crime and serious violence across Staffordshire after cops carried out 13,000 hours of overtime patrols.

Since May last year, they have been on extra duties across 19 different hotspot locations in a bid to drive down crime and tackle the main concerns of people and businesses in communities in the county.

And after clocking up a total of 13,126 hours of patrols in the period from May to the end of this month, police say that the initiative has reduced serious violence by 11 per cent and knife crime by 29 per cent.

The extra patrols have also:

■Reduced overall crime in the hotspot areas by eight per cent, alongside a two per cent overall reduction across Staffordshire;

■Carried out more than 16,000 patrols;

■Arrested more than 350 people;