Why does West Yorkshire have such a violent crime problem? While Trump's tariffs grab global attention, a more immediate crisis unfolds closer to home: 42% of all crime recorded in West Yorkshire is violent crime.

The scale is staggering. Out of 138 total recorded crimes, 58 involved violence against the person. That's not just a statistic. It means that if you become a crime victim in West Yorkshire, you're nearly twice as likely to face violence than any other type of offence. (Source: Police UK, crime-west-yorkshire)

Compare this to what comes next. Other crime accounts for just 20 cases. Drug offences, despite all the headlines about county lines and trafficking, total only 13 incidents. Public order offences, the kind that make local news and angry Facebook posts, barely register at 10 cases.

The pattern tells a story about what crime actually looks like in Britain's fourth-largest urban area. This isn't about shoplifting or antisocial behaviour dominating police time. Violent crime outweighs all other categories combined when you remove it from the equation.

What counts as violent crime? Assault, robbery, harassment, domestic violence, sexual offences. The kind of crimes that leave lasting damage beyond property loss or inconvenience. When politicians talk about making streets safer, this is the number that matters most.

Criminal damage and arson round out the picture with just 8 cases. Even combined with public order offences, they represent less than one-third of the violent crime total. The focus on visible disorder, while understandable, misses where the real harm occurs.

West Yorkshire encompasses Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Huddersfield, and Halifax. Across this diverse region, from university cities to former industrial towns, the pattern holds. Violence dominates the crime landscape in ways that don't match the public debate.

While global trade wars capture headlines with their economic implications, the people of West Yorkshire face a more immediate concern. Nearly half of all crime victims in their communities experience violence. That's a number worth paying attention to, even when the news cycle points elsewhere.