'Lawless' high street gets dedicated police team
A Birmingham high street described by traders as "lawless" has been given a dedicated police team.Last November traders in Erdington said shoplifting and drug dealing was destroying businesses and police were failing to deal with offenders who were openly dealing and stealing products.West Midlands Police started Operation Fearless in January to tackle the issues and now a team of six officers will have a visible presence on High Street, the force said.More than 140 arrests have been made since the operation started and the "look and feel of the area" around High Street had improved, Det Supt Jim Munro, operation lead, said.
The operation will move to other parts of the city with the aim of reducing crime, like shoplifting, in key areas and make people feel safer.In the 12 months up to June, a total of 26,145 shoplifting offences were recorded by the force, compared with 19,184 in the previous 12-month period.
'Constant presence'
The 36% rise is higher than the average for England and Wales over the same time frame (29%).West Midlands Police said the six officers and a sergeant would be on regular patrol on High Street, speaking to local people as well as building relationships with businesses and partners."The results we've seen in Erdington speak for themselves – not just in terms of arrests and charges, but in the look and feel of the area around the high street," Mr Munro said."We're delighted that our work has been met with such positive feedback, and grateful to the Erdington community for their invaluable support and information."The new dedicated High Street team will be a constant presence in the area, and although Fearless is expanding to a new location – our Fearless officers will be using their impressive local and operational knowledge to support them."The team started working in partnership with other officers in the town on 4 April, and has already made 17 arrests, the force said.
Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
5 hours ago
- Daily Record
Elderly woman left bleeding after horror attack by 'gang of girls' in park
The woman, who is in her 70s, was found by cops and paramedics 'bleeding' on the floor at around 7.30pm on Wednesday. A pensioner was rushed to hospital with a head injury following an alleged attack by a group of girls. The woman, who is in her 70s, was found by police and paramedics 'bleeding' on the floor at Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, at around 7.30pm on Wednesday, June 18. According to reports, the incident took place close to a play area with the girls allegedly involved inside the play area at some point. A witness said that a 'group of aggressive girls' were seen hitting an 'old lady'. Birmingham Live reported. 'Shouting in front of my daughter, and other children,' they said. 'Disgusting behaviour.' They added: 'Saw the older women on the floor at one point. I saw the women holding her head with tissue, think it was bleeding. Know police got called though hope she is okay.' The incident is now being investigated, West Midlands Police has confirmed. An earlier statement by West Midlands Police said: 'We were called to reports of disorder involving a group of women close to Banners Gate Lodge, Sutton Park, on Wednesday [June 18], shortly after 7:40pm." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. 'One woman, in her 70s, was taken to hospital with a head injury. We are investigating and people with information should contact us via 101 quoting crime number 20/278984/25.' Sutton Park is one of the largest urban parks in Europe, according to Birmingham City Council. It is a National Nature Reserve and designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The council said the park has "open heathland, woodlands, seven lakes, wetlands, and marshes - each with its own rich variety of plants and wildlife, some rarely seen in the region". Cattle can be seen grazing on the land along with wild ponies.
Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Horror as elderly woman left bleeding after attack in park by ‘gang of girls'
A police investigation is underway folllowing an alleged attack by a group of girls on a pensioner in a popular park - reports say a woman was left with a bleeding head A pensioner was hospitalised with a head injury following an alleged attack by a group of girls. A woman was found by cops and paramedics 'bleeding' on the floor at Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, on Wednesday. The incident, reports say, took place close to a play area with the girls allegedly involved inside the play area at some point. A 'group of aggressive girls' were seen hitting an 'old lady' at around 7.30pm on June 18, a witness said. Another witness said they saw the incident unfold and called it 'disgusting', Birmingham Live reported. 'Shouting in front of my daughter, and other children,' they said. 'Disgusting behaviour.' They added: 'Saw the older women on the floor at one point. I saw the women holding her head with tissue, think it was bleeding. Know police got called though hope she is okay.' The incident is now being investigated, West Midlands Police has confirmed. The Mirror has approached the force for an update, along with West Midlands Ambulance Service, which was reported to have no record of the alleged incident. An earlier statement by West Midlands Police said: 'We were called to reports of disorder involving a group of women close to Banners Gate Lodge, Sutton Park, on Wednesday [June 18], shortly after 7:40pm." 'One woman, in her 70s, was taken to hospital with a head injury. We are investigating and people with information should contact us via 101 quoting crime number 20/278984/25.' Sutton Park is one of the largest urban parks in Europe, according to Birmingham City Council. It is a National Nature Reserve and designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The council said the park has "open heathland, woodlands, seven lakes, wetlands, and marshes - each with its own rich variety of plants and wildlife, some rarely seen in the region". Cattle can be seen grazing on the land along with wild ponies.
BBC News
16 hours ago
- BBC News
Birmingham driver told passengers 'to run' before fatal crash
A driver who was being followed by police told his passengers to "jump out of the car and run" moments before he crashed into a tree and suffered fatal injuries, an inquest has Qasim, 29, was captured speaking on an 18-second video taken by back seat passenger Mohammed Ibrahim before the crash on Island Road, Handsworth, in the early hours of 2 October Qasim died in hospital after suffering "catastrophic head injuries".The BMW had been followed by PC Paul Withers, of West Midlands Police, who denied he was in pursuit of the vehicle, which he said had been travelling "easily double" the 30mph speed limit. He told the inquest at Birmingham Coroner's Court that he had been carrying out intelligence checks on the car and did not know if Mr Qasim was aware he was following him because his manner of driving did not change and the officer did not have his blue lights on. But on Friday, Mr Ibrahim said Mr Qasim had been aware of the police car and sped up as he drove "loops" around Island the video, shown to jurors, Mr Qasim could be heard telling his passengers to "jump out of the car and run".Mr Ibrahim could then be heard telling him to "chill", which he said was him trying to tell the driver to slow down, with Mr Qasim telling him to "shut up".Mr Ibrahim, who was severely injured in the crash, said he did not see Mr Qasim drinking alcohol or smoking, but the inquest previously heard the driver had been was one-and-a-half times over the drink-drive limit, had recently smoked cannabis, and was not wearing a said he started filming because he had earlier been stopped and searched. 'Wanted to pull over' Front seat passenger Ria Garcha, picked up by Mr Qasim the previous evening, said the pair had been drinking and he had empty vodka bottles in his car he wanted to get rid said: "When we first saw the police, the boy [Mr Ibrahim] said, 'oh there's the police' and he put his foot down and went faster."I was telling him to slow down, they weren't coming."They were telling me to shut up. I couldn't seen any lights or sirens behind us."A couple of minutes later the boy said the police were there again."Ms Garcha told the inquest Mr Qasim said he "wanted to pull over and run", adding he "told us to be ready".She said he "drove really fast" before crashing into the tree. Independent expert Jonathan Little, Staffordshire Police chief driving instructor, said he had "no criticism" of PC Withers's and Paul Trowman, chief driving instructor for West Midlands Police, agreed the collision, on the balance of probability, would have happened regardless of the officer's agreed the crash was a combination of speed, alcohol and Trowman did not train PC Withers but said that he had initial training in 2009 and refresher training in 2015 and inquest continues. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
