Beat this! Serious violence and knife crime down after big rise in overtime patrols

Force hails officers' extra 13,000 hours as key to reductions in 'hotspot' areas

- Sentinel Reporter

EFFECTIVE: Police say extra patrols have cut serious violence and knife crime in 19 county hotspots.

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 to 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 from May to the end of this month, police say 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;