MP calls for an end to Stourbridge's 'raw deal' on policing
An MP has demanded an end to a town's "raw deal" on policing – calling for a new police station to be opened as a matter of urgency.
Suzanne Webb has urged police chiefs to deploy more officers on the streets of Stourbridge, and to open up a new station with a frontdesk for people to report crime.
The town has been without a police base since its last one on New Road closed in August 2017, while Stourbridge's neighbourhood policing team is now housed three miles away in Brierley Hill.
Former Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson signed off on the use of a Citizens Advice Bureau office in Market Street as a temporary base for officers in October 2019, but the move was scrapped due to spiralling costs.
Ms Webb has called on Mr Jamieson's successor Simon Foster to start investing in policing "right here and right now".
The Conservative MP said: “Everywhere I go people tell me they want more police in Stourbridge and a police station in their community.
"I remain angry that the CAB building could now be open and doing its job in our communities because it’s such a huge missed opportunity.
“Now that the new PCC is announcing more officers, I want to see some of them deployed to Stourbridge and a permanent presence in our town people can go to when they need to report crime and get help.
“Stourbridge has received a raw deal in policing since the closure of the station. It’s time the new PCC recognises this, does the right thing and starts to invest in policing right here and right now.”
Mr Foster said Stourbridge would get a share of the 450 extra police officers he is planning to deploy in communities across the West Midlands.
He said that in the coming months he will be "looking closely" at West Midlands Police’s Estates Programme, which has seen more than 20 Black Country police stations close down in recent years.
"We are committed to ensuring a new base for the neighbourhood team in Stourbridge," Mr Foster added. "I look forward to working closely with the Dudley Council and Suzanne Webb MP on these issues."
