Stourbridge to get 60 police officers based in the town for first time in seven years after rise in violent incidents

The new site will be home to the Stourbridge and Lye neighbourhood policing teams and Dudley response officers who will all relocate three miles south from Brierley Hill police station.

All 60 officers are already in the employment of West Midlands Police.

The exact location of the new base has not yet been revealed.

Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said: “This is welcome news for the community of Stourbridge.

“People, families, businesses and the local community will feel reassured as I continue to deliver on my pledge to rebuild community policing.

“I am pleased that we are able to announce a new, 60-officer police building in Stourbridge town centre. This investment will ensure a police estate that is fit for the 21st century.

“The plan places significant importance on community policing and police officers here in the West Midlands, working in local communities to prevent, tackle and reduce crime, to keep people, families, businesses and the local community safe and secure.

“Local officers having a dedicated base, especially in a busy town centre, is important because it provides a reassuring – and visible – police presence for communities.”

Dudley LPA Commander, Chief Superintendent Anthony Tagg, added: “The new base is great news for our people and those we serve. It delivers on the promise we made them when we closed the old station – that we’d find a new home in the town.”

The town’s police station in New Road closed in 2017.

An urgent appeal for more police officers in the town was issued in July last year after the stabbing of 16-year-old Joseph Riches and a spate of other violent incidents.

In an open letter issued to the town’s MP Suzanne Webb, West Midlands Police Chief Superintendent Anthony Tagg and the Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, councillor Cat Eccles called on urgent action to restore safety and confidence across Stourbridge.

She said: “The West Midlands has suffered endless cuts to the policing service and the loss of officers is having a negative effect on our communities. Knife crime is on the rise and something needs to be done to tackle this urgently.

“Suzanne Webb – we call on you to ask for fair funding for our police service in the West Midlands. We need law and order returned to the streets of Stourbridge including the long promised police hub.

“Chief Superintendent Tagg and PCC Foster – we again call on you to ensure we have our fair share of officers allocated to the local neighbourhood and response teams. Public confidence in policing is at an all-time low. We appreciate how hard our local teams are working to keep on top of local crime but they desperately need more resources. When will the police hub open in Stourbridge?

“Communities want to see a regular police presence patrolling our town and neighbourhoods. Sadly, resources are so thinly spread there is no consistency. It’s already too late for this young man, but it’s not too late to ensure it does not happen again.”