Drug raids in SmithsWood

One of my teams working out of Chelmsley Wood Police Station have just finished a sustained period of law enforcement activity against drug dealers in the north of Solihull Borough.

The Smithswood Neighbourhood team under the guise of Operation Gardener a part of the force wide Operation Serve and Protect. The operation was possible thanks to the large amount of community intelligence the public gave to us.

Operation Gardener was implemented in Smithswood on 18th of January this year and concluded this week. The aim was to combat the production, sale and misuse of drugs as this had been highlighted by the community in the many meetings we held with them. We also believed that the drug users were committing other crimes to fund their habits, particularly shoplifting in the local Town centre and other property crimes such as breaking into cars.

As a result of this operation we executed 28 warrants and on 26 occasions we used a forced entry to secure the evidence. We made 18 arrests, from which 5 people were charged with possession of class B drugs , 3 were charged with possession with intent to supply class B drugs, & 5 were charged with production of class B drugs. We also issued nearly £500 worth of penalty notices to locals in possession of small amounts of cannabis.

A drug offender led away to answer for his actions

In addition we recovered a taser for which we charged the occupier with possession of offensive weapon; we seized 3 dangerous dogs.

This period of enforcement was only made possible by community members coming forward with information about criminals in their area!

An example of a typical 'cannabis factory' we uncovered

This is a clear message from the law abiding citizens of Solihull that drugs and drug dealers will not be tolerated in their area.

Anyone with information on drug dealers should call us on 0345 113 5000 and we will act on your information!

Changes to Policing in Solihull

Neighbourhood Policing in Meriden Constituency from June 2011

From the 1st June 2011, Solihull Police is undergoing a re-structure designed to enhance the service that our communities receive. The re-structure is being conducted against a background of having to make cost-savings but the aim of Solihull Police is to improve public confidence in us by serving local communities and protecting them from harm. Success means fewer victims of crime and a professional service appropriate to the needs of the individual, which resolves matters to the satisfaction of the caller/victim/member of the public and where their experience is a helpful and positive one.

Neighbourhood policing will be divided into two elements;

1.      Dedicated neighbourhood teams and

2.      Community Action Teams.

Dedicated teams are ward based as they are at present, whilst the Community Action Team will be based at Chelmsley Wood Police Station but will operate on a Borough wide basis. The dedicated teams remain located at their current police stations i.e. Chelmsley Wood; Balsall Common office; NEC and Shirley.

Some ward teams have been merged to provide better support and coverage.

What will they do? Dedicated Neighbourhood Teams

Neighbourhood teams will be dedicated to community engagement in a way that suits the community – this may be meetings, surgeries or being at a place where people are e.g. schools. ASDA etc.

From those conversations; the teams will meet with partners and agree priorities for the forthcoming month and adopt a recognised problem solving approach. We will also undertake the management of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and receive and resolve referrals to the neighbourhood from colleagues.

Community Action Team

A new neighbourhood team to provide support the dedicated to neighbourhood teams to address the priorities highlighted by our communities. They will also provide staff to cover force abstractions – such as Football matches or marches. This will mean that the dedicated teams no longer lose staff to police other areas in the West Midlands.

What else is happening?

24/7 policing will continue to respond to calls for service from the public; the main difference will be that where the call does not require an immediate attendance, we will make an appointment to see you at a time that suits your needs. We will be introducing smart technology to help us track officers locations; meaning we can make better use of our resources.

The Force traffic department will continue to be based at Chelmsley Wood police station meaning we have greater access to their services.

If you have any questions please contact your local police neighbourhood team on 0345 113 5000 or you can follow me on Twitter at @InspWestMidsPol

Your Area

Please use the map below to view the area that the Solihull Local Policing Unit covers. The LPU is broken down into a number of neighbourhoods, click on an area of the highlighted map to see which neighbourhood is located at that point:

View Larger Map