REPORTED incidents of stalking and harassment have rocketed in the West Midlands by 72 per cent, latest crime figures show.

The sharp rise, which is more than three times the national average increase of 22 per cent, is revealed in the latest Office for National Statistics data on Crime in England and Wales year ending December.

Figures for 2019 show there were 20,855 cases of stalking and harassment reported compared with the following year of the coronavirus pandemic when by the end of 2020 there had been 35,805 such reports made to police across the region.

Despite the whopping increase in cases, West Midlands Police say they have taken many additional measures to encourage such reports in the last 12 months despite the pandemic.

A spokesman said: "We continue to invest in key initiatives to help victims of stalking and harassment report crime and we are working to better equip officers to deal with these reports.

"We know these types of offences can impact on how safe people feel, and we are working to improve officers’ knowledge so they can identify early identification of wider patterns of this type of behaviour.

"Protecting and supporting the people within our communities will always remain at the heart of what we do."

Domestic abuse reports have also increased by a third - with one in five crimes being domestic-related.

Hate crime has also increased by 33 per cent - fuelled by online offending, especially at the start of lockdown in April 2020.

A police spokesman said: "We remain committed to taking action to a rise in crime reports we receive; with safeguarding vulnerable people and catching perpetrators of domestic abuse a key focus for the force. Training has also been refreshed to address safety in the home for children who are victims of abuse. Training is also now been given to identify cases for referral or escalation for wider families of domestic abuse cases."

Deputy Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine said: "Offences such as stalking and harassment − including threats of violence and abuse sent over social media − fall into the violent crime data set and it’s there where we’ve seen significant increases.

“Our biggest crime type is stalking and harassment offences. They account for one in seven of all offences reported to West Midlands Police.

“It’s the significant increase in these types of offences, often social media-driven, that have resulted in the rise in ‘violent crime’ offences."

Regarding the rise in domestic abuse cases, she said: "We know lockdown has been tough on relationships and that people have been suffering domestic abuse in both physical and psychological forms.

"But we need people to know there is no need to suffer alone and the force, along with the many charities and refuges across the West Midlands, are ready, willing and able to help."

Meanwhile, reports of burglary, robbery and knife crime have all fallen, according to the statistics.

The West Midlands has seen a 19 per cent drop in burglaries, 21 per cent fall in robberies and knife crime down by 8.5 per cent.