Express & Star Comment: Thank you for keeping us all safe
Most of what the counter terrorism police and security services do is unseen.
By the very nature of their work they work in the shadows.
And the public rarely, if ever, get to hear about their successes.
March 29 this year was one of those rare occasions.
In broad daylight in a West Midlands street, masked and hooded police gunmen sprung on a brother and sister suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Birmingham.
A third accomplice, the brother's wife, was later arrested.
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The dramatic scenes, captured on mobile phones by members of the public, went viral on social media.
What we did not know then was that counter terrorism officers and MI5 had just thwarted a Westminster-style knife rampage in our region.
It was one of those rare occasions we got to see them in action.
Those officers and members of the security and intelligence agencies deserve our utmost respect and gratitude.
This case demonstrates the very real threat we face as a country and a region.
We cannot underestimate the work they do.
The police and the security services come in for criticism from time to time.
Some of it is deserved, a lot of it isn't.
They do an extremely difficult job where the difference can be life or death on a huge scale.
But what we saw in Alum Rock earlier this year shows why they are worth their weight in gold.
It is easy to think that terrorist outrages are things that happen in distant lands, or that these fundamentalists wouldn't bother targeting the West Midlands.
Such complacency is plainly wrong.
Without the painstaking, professional, and perfectly-timed work of these men and women, we would have seen an attack akin to Westminster, London Bridge, or Manchester here in the West Midlands.
And the victims could have been any one of us or our loved ones.
It really makes you stop and think, doesn't it?
West Midlands Police keeps us safe every day of the week, often in ways we can never fully appreciate.
The terror threat facing this country is real.
We can't let these sick twisted individuals impinge on our way of life – but we can't afford to be ignorant either.
But let's be thankful for the skill and experience of those entrusted to keep us safe from evil.
