Words by Ed King
Since officially launching on Tuesday 7 January, officers from Operation Fearless have been making a raft of arrests across Erdington – apprehending criminals from shoplifters to armed carjackers.
The Op Fearless team have also seized weapons from suspects on the street, raided the address of a suspected drug dealer, and used “community intelligence” to catch wanted and violent criminals and send them to court.
In a brief breakdown of some of the arrests made by the Operation Fearless team so far, prolific and agressive shoplifters on Erdington High Street have been caught, charged, and processed on 17 Jan, 19 Jan, and 21 Jan.
Officers have seized weapons, including knives and bats, from individuals on the streets on 12 Jan and 20 Jan.
On 14 January, Operation Fearless and local police raided the home address of a suspected drug dealer – breaking down their front door on Derrydown Close and finding 50 wraps of drugs and a zombie knife.
On 17 January, after being alerted by staff at a local pub, Operation Fearless police apprehended a man after he smashed windows at the premises – further finding a knife, and that the man was previously wanted for robbery.
On the launch day itself, 7 January, arrests were made for sexual offences and failure to attend a previous court hearing.
But perhaps some of the most audacious arrests for the Operation Fearless team were made after receiving reports of an armed carjacking, taking place mid-afternoon on Saturday 18 January.
Partnering with police in the traffic and firearms teams, Operation Fearless cops tracked the stolen Kia car – which had been taken from a motorist on Short Heath Road at knife point – and gave chase.
After refusing to stop and even ramming two police vehicles, the fugitives were finally corned and forced to surrender. Three people in their thirties were later charged with robbery, possession of a knife in a public place, aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, and other driving offences.
Operation Fearless have been funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner and will see 20 officers and £880,000 invested into Erdington Town Centre.
The initiative follows on from Operation Skybridge which was launched last autumn, and saw the police deploy extra resources to tackle crime across the wider Erdington constituency.
With an increase in “high-visibility patrols” and “targeted operations”, West Midlands Police state they introduced the special policing initiative to tackle crime on and around Erdington High Street – an area that has been a “hotspot” of crime and anti-social behaviour.
Leading Operation Fearless, Detective Superintendent Jim Munro told Erdington Local: “We’ve got problems here and now, there’s no two ways about that; we’ve listened to the community. Theft, anti-social behaviour, open drug dealing or drug taking… all key things that, quite rightly, concern the community.
“So those are the things we need to address straight away, and we need to look at those issues and how we look to deter offending. And how we look to reduce that and put people through the criminal process if appropriate.”
He added: “[Operation Fearless} will continue to work here in Erdington as long as necessary to hand it into a place, where we feel, it is sustainable to look at regeneration.”
Funded until March 2026, Operation Fearless are encouraging Erdington local businesses and residents to report any and all crimes they see, using both the improved 111 and 999 services and by talking to bobbies on the beat around the High Street and other areas.
Erdington Ward Councillor Robert Alden (Conservative), who sits as Director of the Erdington Business Improvement District, reiterated this call to arms to report and fight crime.
He told Erdington Local: “It’s vital that businesses and residents report any crime they see; it might be a partial numberplate, it might be a partial description, but feed it in directly to the police – or to Crimestoppers if you [want to do this anonymously].”
He added: “Because that information will get used and pooled together with other intelligence that other people submit and then enable [the police] to carry out raids, and to get warrants, and put people behind bars.”
Operation Fearless police team raid address of suspected drug dealer on Derrydown Close
For more on Operation Fearless direct from West Midlands Police visit www.westmidlands.police.uk/police-forces/west-midlands-police/areas/campaigns/campaigns/operation-fearless
