A new anti-crime campaign has been launched in West Bromwich in a bid to curb concerning levels of crime and anti-social behaviour in the town centre, in particular thefts from retail premises.
The #ReportItStopIt campaign is the brainchild of West Bromwich Member of Parliament, Nicola Richards, working with stakeholders and West Midlands Police.
The campaign aims to encourage victims to report crime to the Police, along with businesses and retail premises who suffer at the hands of criminals.
Nicola Richards MP said: “We know that there is a particular problem with criminal activity in the town centre, but the Police can only act if they know it’s happening.
“That’s why I’ve been motivated to start this campaign to make sure people know that it’s easy to report a crime to West Midlands Police, and it is that reporting that is so essential when the Police discuss resource allocation to be able to stop it.
“In an emergency, you should always dial 999, but to report non-emergency incidents you can dial 101, or visit https://west-midlands.police.uk/contact-us where you can chat to the Police live online,” she said.
Sergeant Paul Bishop, of West Midlands Police, said: ““We are focused on tackling all times of crime and disorder in West Bromwich town centre. However, some weeks we get as few as one report of shop-lifting from local businesses. To make sure we can send our officers to the right places at the right times, we need to build up a picture of what’s really happening in the town. This is why the campaign to encourage businesses and visitors in the town centre to report all crime is so important.”
Businesses that wish to take part in the campaign by displaying a poster in their premises window can contact Nicola Richards MP by email at nicola.richards.mp@parliament.uk or help by sharing posts on social media.
