Rise in crime gangs targeting luxury cars across West Midlands

Violent car thieves have created a dramatic spike – and burglaries on homes and businesses are also significantly up.

There have been more than 26,000 recorded burglaries across the West Midlands this year, a rise of 20 per cent.

Robberies have gone up even further - by 40 per cent since March, with police chiefs seeing a growing trend of luxury cars being stolen.

Police believe gangs could be targeting certain areas, with a particular peak in the Walsall area as well as two areas around Birmingham.

Organised criminals are targeting homes amid a spate of high-value vehicle thefts.

West Midlands Police Deputy Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe said the spate could be down to a small number of people operating a 'crime spree' which could be dismantled through improved tactics.

Chief Constable Dave Thompson admitted the spate of car thefts would make people 'feel insecure' in their homes.

The top police officers were speaking during a meeting of the strategic policing and crime board.

Board member Brendan Connor called the increase in robberies 'staggering' and said he believed people living in Walsall, Solihull and west Birmingham, the three areas named by police as hotspots, would be concerned.

He said: "The rate of increase is staggering – we are looking at a 40 per cent increase since March.

"The burglaries and robberies are related. They are failed attempts to get car keys and if they do have success clearly high-value vehicles go missing.

"People don't generally rob people of an Audi A6 on the spur of the moment. These are organised.

"It is driving a sense that particular areas are being targeted."

Dep Ch Cons Rolfe said: "We are very keen tackle vehicle crime, robberies and burglaries and the connection between the three.

"Solihull, Walsall and Birmingham West is where we are seeing higher intensity of offending."

Chief Constable Thompson described burglaries as an 'issue' for the force and said it was a 'real focus'.

Dep Ch Cons Rolfe added: "We have had great results arresting some spree offenders but we know we have got work to do. Solihull and Walsall have seen a substantial increase in robbery recordings."

And on the increase in burglaries, she said: "It is something that is a significant priority for us at the moment. Neighbourhood teams will be focusing on reducing burglaries in their areas."

Police chiefs said a change in the way burglaries are recorded could also have had an impact on the figures.