Birmingham stabbing news: Rise in violence 'almost inevitable' due to lockdown, says police and crime commissioner

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A rise in violence is “almost inevitable” because of the coronavirus lockdown, a police and crime commissioner warned as a series of stabbings left one dead and seven injured in Birmingham.

David Jamieson, the elected official overseeing policing in the West Midlands, said that people had “a lot of pent-up feelings” because of the pandemic and its impact on their jobs and futures.

Police said they were hunting for a lone male suspect over the apparently random attacks in the city centre early on Sunday morning. There was no suggestion the stabbings were terror-related, motivated by hate or were gang-related.

Mr Jamieson, who has been West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner since 2014, said the stabbings were “truly terrible and have shocked the people of Birmingham, the West Midlands and the country.”

He said the incident followed a surge in violent crime across the region over the past weeks and months.

“I have been saying for some time, in the context of Covid-19, that a lot of the pent-up feelings of people have, and not being able to get out, and combine that with people who are now unsure about their future and about their jobs, it was almost inevitable that we would see a growth in violence,” Mr Jamieson said at a press conference.

"I'm not saying that this is directly related to that, but nevertheless we are seeing now a growth of violence among younger people, particularly younger males, we're seeing that growing across the region.

"My fear is that if we don't address that and some of the underlying problems with some urgency then we could see that grow.

"But, notwithstanding that, Birmingham is a good place, it's a good place to be, it's a safe city and it is regrettable that this awful incident happened last night."

Mr Jamieson said the city centre was “well used to activity” but added: "I think what is different is the randomness of this particular event but also the number of other events that were happening as well.

"The amount of violence that was happening is actually very, very disturbing."

He has previously warned that criminal gangs were "coming out of lockdown" and said in July that the reopening of pubs could see an increase in disorder.

Additional reporting by Press Association