Success on crime crackdown in Wednesfield
Police and councillors in Wednesfield have said that a major project to crackdown on vehicle crime and shoplifting has been a success.
A number of businesses in and around Wednesfield, Ashmore Park and Bentley Bridge Retail and Leisure Park have been targeted by both petty and serious crimes in recent months.
Following a number of calls from each of the six councillors across the Wednesfield North and South regions for action, police have just revealed the results of a number of specific operations in the area to combat the problems.
Councillor Phil Bateman, who represents the area, said: "I was away on a break for a few days recently and returned to hear this positive news from the local neighbourhood policing team.
“Officers tell me that numerous vehicles – including stolen cars and motorcycles, quad bikes and untaxed and uninsured vehicles – have now been taken off the roads, which will disrupt a considerable amount of the criminal element of society.
“As well as this, some vehicles that have been used to commit crimes that have involved shops being robbed have also been seized and removed. Police also recovered and destroyed a large machete in one raid.”
A spokesman for Wednesfield Police added that there had been some ‘excellent’ joint work carried out between the council and security and shop workers at Bentley Bridge, which had resulted in a large number of shoplifters being caught and brought before the courts.
He said that banning orders had also been placed on some of the most prolific and problematic beggars in the area, banning them from the whole of the Bentley Bridge retail and entertainment sites along with the adjacent Sainsbury’s superstore.
Councillor Bateman added: "Whilst I and my fellow councillors are extremely pleased to receive this information, I am also keen for Wednesfield residents to note that we are still doing all we can to get the government to provide us with more police officers.
“That is the only way that we are going to deliver a better result when it comes to crime. Over the last 10 years we have been imploring them to stop axing our police force. Finally it appears our arguments seem to have gotten through, but we need to keep pushing."
