Police officers could be placed in schools amid violent crime clampdown plans
Police officers could be placed in schools as part of plans to clamp down on violent crime in the region.
Chief Constable Sir David Thompson said an increase in West Midlands Police officer numbers over the next two years would give the force “a great deal more resources” to tackle priority crime areas.
He said these included domestic abuse, rape and violent crime investigations, while more neighbourhood officers would be on the streets with some placed in schools.
Sir David also vowed to sit down with the region’s new police and crime commissioner (PCC) after May’s election to discuss the controversial police estates programme, which has seen dozens of stations close in recent years.
West Midlands Police is to get 1,200 new officers by 2023 under a Government recruitment drive, having lost 2,200 officers due to cuts since 2010.
Sir David told the Express & Star he was “very positive” about the potential impact of the extra officers.
“The force had got way too small,” he said. “I think the police cuts had fallen disproportionately in the West Midlands.
“We’ve had to save more money than any other force in the country, and I think we were very, very stretched so the uplift is welcome.
“It puts us in a good place where we can plug a few areas where we have got quite tight. It will help us improve some of our response to calls, and to prioritise important areas for investigation, such as domestic abuse, rape and violence.
Debate
“I think we are going to be able to put more neighbourhood officers on the streets, and particularly in schools. These are things we have not been able to do for a long while. There’s also a big investment around gangs and violence, and organised crime.
“At the end of three years we will probably have around 1,200 extra officers coming into the force, which isn’t as many as we’ve lost, but during that time we have improved how the police work, so we’re using more technology and different ways of working.
"I certainly think it gives me a great deal more resources to target the problems that concern the public. We can make a difference with these extra people.”
Defending the force’s estates programme, Sir David said “very few” members of the public now used police stations and the majority of people who did were signing on for bail.
He said: “We want to deliver a level of provision because sometimes vulnerable people need somewhere to go to, and we think it’s really important neighbourhood teams are present in their communities.
“However, we have had some very old stations that are in poor repair and are costing a lot of money.
“These days the force is more mobile and it’s more technologically equipped, so our use of buildings is changing. I don’t want officers in the buildings much, I want them out in the communities.
“There will obviously be debate about stations in the elections, which I think is right, and we’ll sit down with the new commissioner.”
