Andrew Mitchell MP Praises West Midlands Police
05 January 2010
Andrew Mitchell MP, has praised West Midlands Police for their continuing efforts to make Sutton Coldfield’s streets safer from anti-social behaviour and the rise of “gang culture.”
The latest Home Office statistics show that violent crime across the city has risen 18% in the last year, with the West Midlands suffering from the highest level of knife crime outside London and the third highest level of gun crime across England and Wales.
Speaking after one of his regular updates on the city’s policing with West Midlands Police Chief Constable Chris Simms, Andrew Mitchell said: “It is heartening to hear that so much is being done by West Midlands Police, through Neighbourhood Policing and active campaigns, to reduce the levels of anti-social behaviour in region.
“But we must do more - violent crime has increased across the whole of the West Midlands, including Sutton Coldfield, during the past decade, with levels of gun crime across the region doubling since Labour came to power
“And more worrying is that gang culture is no longer confined to the margins, with one nationwide estimate suggesting that 30,000 young people in the UK belong to gangs, yet the Labour Government continues to ignore the problem while violent crime increases on our streets.
“Instead of waiting to tackle the problem once it has hit crisis levels, the Conservative Party would give our police officers the power to prevent the causes of crime and anti-social behaviour through education, early intervention and family support.”
