New crime data has exposed the West Midlands' sexual offence hotspots, revealing that on average, a sex attack is reported every single day in the region's worst-affected area.
Birmingham City Centre Tops the List
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the immense footfall, Birmingham city centre sits at the top of the list. The area, a hub for train stations, shopping centres, and nightlife, recorded a staggering 1,165 sex offences in the three years leading to 2025.
This equates to roughly one reported incident per day. The issue of public safety in the city centre was further highlighted last month when police released a CCTV image of a man wanted in connection with a sex attack near St Martin's Queensway.
Concerns have been amplified following the shocking murder of Katie Fox near New Street station, casting a renewed spotlight on security in the area.
Regional Hotspots Revealed
Following Birmingham city centre, another city centre area, St Michael's in Coventry, recorded the second-highest number of offences with 1,015 reports.
The list of high-crime areas also includes several parts of Birmingham itself:
- Aston - 602 offences
- Lozells and East Handsworth - 555 offences
- Stockland Green - 481 offences
Other notable locations featured in the data are Edgbaston, Bordesley Green, Westside, Shard End, and St Matthew's in Walsall.
This data emerges as detectives continue to investigate alleged racially-aggravated rapes in both Walsall and Oldbury.
A System 'Not Working' for Victims
Lucy Duckworth, a policy advisor at The Survivors Trust, commented on the low prosecution rates, which deter many victims from coming forward.
"I think that some victims do not want to report offences or be involved in prosecutions because they are seeing the trauma of reporting," she said.
She highlighted a critical statistic: "Of the 15% of offences that are reported, only 1.6% will result in a prosecution."
Duckworth concluded with a stark assessment: "This isn’t a system that needs reforming, but rather one that simply isn’t working and isn’t delivering for victims."
