Police respond after 'unacceptable' escalation in violence in Sutton Coldfield

Police increased Section 60 stop-and-search powers in the Royal Town this week meaning they can search people without suspicion for weapons in the town following recent trouble in the town.

Officers say they are speaking to members of the public to find out what they want to see more of in their communities.

And a statement added: "We know there are also sometimes issues around Sutton town at the end of the school day – lots of young people congregate to socialise or to catch buses – it’s mostly fine, but we do see issue flare up from time to time.

"We work closely with local businesses, the nearby schools, and others to monitor and address any issues.

"There has been an escalation in violence over the last week or so – this is unacceptable.

"We have had Section 60 powers in place in Sutton Coldfield on the evenings this week.

"Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 allows us to stop and search people without suspicion.

"It’s different from ordinary ‘stop and search’ because it means we don’t need to have ‘reasonable grounds’ in order to carry out a stop and search.

"A number of people were stopped and spoken to and two 18-year-olds were arrested.

"One man was arrested after we found a hammer in his bag and the second man was arrested last night (30 Sept) on suspicion of possession of a knife during a knife operation in McDonalds, Lower Parade.

"They have both been released under investigation while our enquiries are ongoing.

"We’re also doing lots of work to tackle violence amongst young people, including regular talks with young people on the dangers of knife crime, working with families of people identified as being at risk of issues including exploitation (such as county lines) and other factors.

"We’ve worked with bordering forces and BTP to address some of these concerns and continue to raise awareness and support people we feel may be vulnerable.

"We’ve had extra support from our specialist taskforce, Project Guardian, to robustly deal with some of the issues of violence and several weapons and drugs have been recovered."

Supt Dave Twyford from Birmingham East said: "We want everyone to enjoy a safe visit to Birmingham and the surrounding areas, and we want our communities to know we are listening to them and we are taking action against issues that affect them the most, such as anti-social behaviour and drugs.

“The recent increase in antisocial behaviour, violence and traffic issues is concerning, but we’re fully aware and have put lots of things in place to play our part in reducing them. Our priority is to keep you feeling safe.”

Anyone with concerns or information about crime can contact us via Live Chat on our website or call us on 101. Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.

If you are worried about knife crime, or feel you can help support us, please visit our Life or Knife website.