Dozens of crimes linked to coronavirus
Dozens of crimes have been committed by people using coronavirus to scare victims, according to new figures.
West Midlands Police logged a total of 111 crimes that related in some way to Covid-19.
The most common crime of this nature was assault. There were 24 assaults since January where officers noted the word 'coronavirus' in their crime log. There were another 13 more serious attacks classified as assaults occasioning bodily harm.
Other crimes included racially or religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress, of which there were seven, racially or religiously aggravated common assault (six) and theft from a shop or stall (six). There was also four crimes listed as sending a communication conveying an offensive message.
One incident was listed as hoax involving a noxious substance, which happened in Birmingham.
The data was released by West Midlands Police under the Freedom of Information Act. Full details of the crimes were not provided, but it indicates the Covid-19 epidemic has been used to make threats.
There have been dozens of cases across the UK of people threatening to cough or spit at police officers, paramedics or NHS workers during the lockdown. One of the crimes listed by West Midlands was assault by beating of a constable, which also happened in Birmingham.
People of Chinese and Asian origin have also been targeted in racist attacks. A racist slur was daubed on a Chinese takeaway in Dudley earlier this month.
Crime as a whole has plummeted across the West Midlands as a result of the lockdown, with shops and other commercial businesses largely closed and most people confined to their homes.
