Safer communities and reduced harm
Performance reflections
Coventry continues to work closely with key partners including the West Midlands Police to support safer communities and reduce anti-social behaviour.
Recorded crime reduced by 7.67% during 2025 to 2026, continuing the positive trend seen across a number of key crime categories. Reductions were recorded in domestic abuse, serious youth violence, sexual offences and knife crime, contributing to an overall reduction in crime across the city.
Coventry continues to perform favourably when compared with a number of similar metropolitan areas, with the crime rate remaining below that of both Birmingham and Wolverhampton. This reflects the continued effectiveness of partnership working through the Coventry Community Safety Partnership and the delivery of targeted interventions aimed at preventing crime and reducing harm.
In Q4, Coventry Youth Justice Service (CYJS) recorded a further reduction in first time entrants (FTEs) compared with the previous 2 quarters, with 9 in Q3 and 20 in Q2. Overall, during 2025 to 2026 there were 48 first time entrants, representing a reduction compared with the previous year (51). The FTE rate decreased from 151 per 100,000 to 131 per 100,000 children.
Coventry YJS continues to maintain robust oversight of all first time entrant decisions. Each case is reviewed to ensure that formal outcomes are necessary, proportionate, and aligned with national expectations regarding diversion. In Q4, all 3 cases were assessed as appropriate, providing assurance that children are only entering the youth justice system when absolutely necessary and that opportunities for diversion remain a priority. The service continues to closely monitor first time entrant trends, using the data to understand emerging patterns and to identify potential drivers behind the year-on-year increase.
Thirty-four point four percent of Coventry children reoffended in the 12 months following their index outcome (July 2023 to June 2024). This is slightly above the YJS family group rate of 33.1% for the same period. This is a small increase from the previous cohort (January to December 2023), where Coventry’s rate was 32.4%. The family group has also seen an increase over the same period, rising from 30.5%, so the upward trend is not unique to Coventry.
While rates have gone up locally, the increase is slightly lower than the family group, which suggests Coventry is seeing similar pressures but with some relative stability. The increase in reoffending is largely linked to a smaller cohort of children with more complex needs and behaviours. This includes higher levels of vulnerability, more repeat offending, and greater overall risk. This reflects a wider shift across youth justice, where fewer children are entering the system, but those who do are more likely to have entrenched and complex needs.
Commissioned services for domestic abuse received a similar number of requests for support in 2025 to 2026 to the previous year.
Action taken in year
A number of factors are likely to have contributed to reduction in crime, including the ongoing work of the Violence Reduction Partnership and partners to identify and support individuals at risk of involvement in serious violence, targeted outreach and early intervention activity with young people, and coordinated enforcement operations delivered with West Midlands Police and other agencies.
Seasonal Home Office funded initiatives, including the Summer and Winter Safer Streets operations, have also enabled partners to undertake focused activity in hotspot locations, providing both enforcement and preventative interventions designed to reduce crime and improve community safety. While it is not possible to attribute reductions to any single intervention, the continued use of intelligence-led, multi-agency approaches has supported the reduction in crime and contributed towards safer communities across Coventry.
Coventry Youth Justice Service maintains clear oversight of all FTE decisions through case review, ensuring outcomes are necessary, proportionate, and aligned with diversion expectations; use management oversight to challenge and support decision-making, keeping a consistent approach across the service and with partners; continue working with partners, particularly police, to prioritise diversion and avoid unnecessary entry into the formal system.
To address re-offending we have expanded Inspire Days and BEX group delivery to improve engagement, build identity and strengthen protective factors, leading to reduced reoffending for children with the highest needs; target mentoring and relationship-based support at the smaller cohort of children to improve sustained engagement, reduce risk and achieve a measurable reduction in reoffending rates; strengthen oversight of reoffending through regular cohort review, using data, audit and feedback to identify patterns, adapt interventions and drive a consistent reduction in repeat offending.
The commissioned services for domestic abuse support have continued to receive and respond to many requests for support across the year.