It was great to hear the news this morning that the Police & Crime Commissioner has finally made the decision to put more bobbies on the beat in West Bromwich - something our town desperately needs after weeks of spiralling crime incidents.
I wrote to the PCC calling for more Police on our streets a couple of weeks ago, so I'm really pleased he has taken this step.
This news comes after weeks of pressure on the Police from myself, Ministers and, most importantly, our communities in Sandwell that have been hit hardest by the horrific incidents that we’ve seen in recent weeks.
I feel something needs to be done about this situation, so I raised these issues with the Policing Minister - Kit Malthouse - in the House of Commons last week and he also urged the Police & Crime Commissioner to pay attention to the policing needs of our town. You can watch me questioning the Policing Minister here.
It took him a little while to come to this decision, but the Police & Crime Commissioner has made the right decision for West Bromwich.
This is exactly why the Government has invested more money into Police funding - so the PCC has greater resources available to tackle the alarming rates of crime in our area. It was one of the key manifesto commitments I stood on at the last election, so I’m glad to see this move in the right direction.
I’ll continue to be monitoring the situation over the coming weeks and I look forward to hearing further news of the Police & Crime Commissioner's plans.
Local people have a right to feel safe and respected in West Bromwich town centre once again. I have a vision of our town being the beating heart of the Black Country once again - and somewhere we can all feel proud of - and I'll being continuing to work hard to ensure this vision is realised.
