Guardian Taskforce: Inside the West Midlands Police unit that tackles knife crime and youth violence head-on

In a day of action, West Midlands Police's Guardian Taskforce descended on Wolverhampton city centre as their eagle-eyed officers looked to arrest those carrying knives, and stop youths who are up to no good.

The taskforce was launched in 2018 and is West Midlands Police's specialist unit, with a primary goal of reducing the number of knife crime offences, youth violence incidents, and serious violence incidents in the West Midlands.

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Through their core tactics of plain-clothed operations, behavioural detection and high-visibility patrols, and a new intensive approach, the unit has made over 50 arrests in February 2026 alone, and approximately 800 arrests in a 12-month period leading into 2026.

Under the direct command of Inspector Colin Gallier, we joined the Guardian Taskforce team to explore the inner workings of this specialist unit as they entered the streets of Wolverhampton once again.

Guardian Taskforce

Meeting at Wednesfield Police Station ahead of the patrol, we were given an all-access look into the inner workings of how the Guardian Taskforce operates, how they select which areas to focus on each day, and how they produce their high arrest figures. 

The taskforce was described by Mr Gallier as symbiotic with the Local Police Areas (LPAs) and the neighbourhood policing teams. 

Each LPA, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Dudley, Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry, are given the chance to bid for Guardian officers to come to their area to cover a 'hotspot' town or city centre or street. 

Mr Gallier described 'hotspots' as areas where a high level of incidents are reported by the neighbourhood policing teams, and areas that are known to be frequented by criminals and lawbreakers.