West Midlands Police provides policing services to the metropolitan area of the West Midlands. The police force area covers 348 square miles in the centre of England. There are areas of deprivation and affluence in the West Midlands. Around 2.8 million people live in a predominantly urban setting. The force covers the West Midlands conurbation, including the cities of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry and large surrounding townships. The resident population is ethnically very diverse, with 30 percent from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and is increased by a large number of university students and the large numbers who visit, socialise in, commute into, or travel through the area each year. The transport infrastructure includes major rail stations and a major airport.
HMICFRS independently assesses police forces and policing across activity from neighbourhood teams to serious crime and the fight against terrorism – in the public interest.
In preparing our reports, we ask the questions which citizens would ask, and publish the answers in accessible form, using our expertise to interpret the evidence. We provide authoritative information to allow the public to compare the performance of their force against others, and our evidence is used to drive improvements in the service to the public.
Force Area |
348 square miles | |
Population |
2.81m people | 9% local 10 yr change |
Workforce |
79% frontline | 78% national level |
| 3.9 per 1000 population | 3.6 national level | |
| 17% change in local workforce since 2010 | 15% national change since 2010 |
Victim-based crimes |
0.06 per person | 0.06 national level |
| Local 5 year trend (no change) | National 5 year trend (no change) |
Cost |
54p per person per day local | 55p per person per day national |
David Jamieson
Chief Constable David Thompson, appointed in January 2016
