Ed’s note… This article was first published in the Erdington Local monthly newspaper, out on shelf from 18 June.
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Operation Fearless showed what high impact policing can do, after it launched in Erdington Town Centre in January 2025 and bit off a chunk of crime from the battle-weary High Street.
But since then, the remaining Neighbourhood Police Team has seen a revolving door of officers, sergeants, and inspectors come and go, leaving little but public mistrust and criminal hubris to fill in the void.
Enter Sergeant Claire Millard, who cut her teeth in the London Met and is now heading up Erdington’s local police force.
Erdington Local went for a coffee and a chat with Sgt Millard on Erdington High Street, to find out who she is, how she operates, and why things might once again be starting to change for the better.
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Words by Shaun Hand
I meet Sergeant Millard at Oiko’s Café on Erdington High Street, her arrival heralded by high volume banter from two smokers outside The Swan pub across the concourse. Sgt Millard smiles and acknowledges the loud ladies in question, taking it all in her stride, and we sit down with a coffee. Over the background hum of Oiko’s lunchtime trade and the occasional crackly chatter from Sgt Millard’s radio, we start at the beginning.
“I’m from East London, Walthamstow,” she explains, her Estuary accent undented by five years in the Midlands. “And where I grew up, you had two choices: you either did the bad stuff, or you got out…
“I realised quite early on that it was all down to the choices that I made. It didn’t matter what type of environment you grew up in or what your background was, you had the ability to make those choices.”
“And if you saw it through,” she adds, “even in the hardest times, there was always something positive you could do.”
Having considered careers in policing and education, Millard initially pursued the latter, planning to become a secondary school teacher – “If you get people young, you can educate them [and] give them the right advice” – but by the time she went back to college, to re-sit the necessary exams and take an access course, she was a single mother in her late twenties, balancing parenthood and studies with 12 hour shifts as Deputy Manager in a local bookies.
It was a customer in the betting shop who told her about the Metropolitan Police’s then-latest recruitment drive, and despite having secured a university place to study in Canterbury, Claire Millard decided to apply for a place on the force. And she got in.
“I’ve found my hands are less tied [as a police officer] and I can be more honest,” she says of her deciding to channel her passion for helping young people through policing. “And they can relate to that. I can say to somebody, ‘If you want to end up in custody, carry on. But talk to me to like a human being, and we’re going to walk away from this and forget about it.’”
After seven-and-half years of working for the Met in Barking & Dagenham, as a schools officer and responding to 999 calls, Millard relocated to the West Midlands, working on complex investigations at West Bromwich before being promoted again to her current position as the Sergeant responsible for Erdington’s Neighbourhood Police Team (NPT), which she took up in January this year.
As well as getting up to speed on what her predecessors had put in place, or not, the now Sgt Millard said she also had to learn “how best to reach the local community. What to do and what not to do, which is key in a place like [Erdington].”
“Partnership work is key here, too,” tells Sgt Millard, who has already established more of a relationship with local stakeholders than both of her predecessors combined – according to those we speak to. “Most people want Erdington to be a nice place, a safe place. Somewhere you could not just come and grab something and run off again, but actually spend time here: sit outside, have a coffee, meet friends.”
An admirable approach to neighbourhood policing, and one that – on paper at least – would seem to work. But the tacit implication is that despite a well-publicised investment of £880,000 and double dose of Operation Fearless, alongside other promises that failed to materialise (the fabled ‘High Street Police Team’ being one) people in Erdington Town Centre still don’t feel able to do those things.
So, what does the area’s new police sergeant see as the reasons, and the answers?
“Unfortunately, the High Street has its…” She pauses.
While our conversation generally flows freely, a chat straying into everything from ‘90s reggae to the Irish spelling of names, Sergeant Millard becomes very considered when answering questions about her approach to policing in Erdington.
“I don’t like to say that it’s the homelessness or the street drinking, because those people are vulnerable within themselves. But sometimes… the loud music puts people off; [As well as] the kids, and adults, on bikes or e-scooters.”
And of what happened before Sgt Millard caame into post, she admits, “Operation Fearless leaving left a massive gap”, but also that, “Them coming back [in April 2026], and introducing the Neighbourhood Team the way I’ve done, has hopefully built more confidence back.
“But we need to hold that now. We need to show what we’re doing is going to work.”
The impression Sgt Millard gives, from her working-class background, her passion for education and helping young people, and her approach to local policing, is that she’s not a mandarin – full of well-meaning theory, but no real-world experience.
But nor is she a Clint Eastwood type, riding in to ruthlessly clean up the town on her own. She’s far more pragmatic and community minded.
“This High Street’s got to be about all of us,” she explains. “We (the police) can uphold the law and we can get involved, but we need to make this a better place for everybody, and it’s going to take all of us to do that.
“Teenagers are welcome to be here [as long as they’re] respectful about it. And that again comes down to education.”
Sergeant Millard is full of praise for local groups in the area too, particularly the Erdington Street Pastors, Erdington Litter Busters, and the Erdington Business Improvement District.
“There are so many people here that want to make a positive difference,” she adds, before coming back to how, under her watch, the police going to play their part.
“We want to create the Street Watch again,” continues Sgt Millard, “where we get some of the High Street owners involved. I think there was one, but it hasn’t [continued], and I don’t know if that’s through lack of trying or just lack of interaction.
“But we now have a Dedicated Neighbourhood Officer (DNO) just for the High Street who’s willing and able to do whatever he can to get things up and running.”
And what about the old-fashioned ‘boots on the ground’ style of policing so many yearn for? “That’s on my wish list,” she responds firmly. “What I would really like is to have [at least] two officers visible on the High Street, Thursday through to Sunday, ten ‘til six. Just so there are two bobbies [always on patrol] at the busiest time.”
At the moment, however, Sergeant Millard believes her Neighbourhood Police Team are three officers short. “I’ve got vacancies I’m hoping to fill,” she explains, wanting to get officers on the High Street in time for the six-week school holidays.
And whilst funding is usually the biggest stumbling block in local police teams, and Sgt Millard accepts “the world’s a different place now”, there is still hope West Midlands Police higher ups will agree securing the legacy of Operation Fearless is worth the investment.
And some things do stay the same, Sgt Millard’s common-sense approach to community policing being one of them.
“It’s not rocket science,” she says. “It really isn’t. It’s about having bobbies on the street; somebody you can turn to. You know their name and if you have a problem, you can speak to them. You haven’t got to go through 111.
“Obviously, if it’s an emergency dial 999. But if you have a worry or a concern, you know that Andy (PC Boyle, one of Erdington’s DNOs) is going to be on your street or in the community hub, and you can pop your head in and say, ‘I’ve had this happen; it’s slightly worrying.’ And you can get advice on what to do next.’”
After an hour’s honest conversation, and continued radio chatter, Sgt Millard’s phone also pipes up. Her advice is needed on an ongoing case. “I’ve got a lot to do,” she admits of her new role. as she rings off and gets ready to head back to Erdington Police Station.
“But if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly.”
PICTURE GALLERY: Policing in Erdington Town Centre – from the launch of Operation Fearless to present day / Photographs by Ed King, West Midlands Police, and supplied by various local stakeholders
For more on the police and crime in Erdington visit www.westmidlands.police.uk/area/your-area/west-midlands/birmingham/erdington/
You can also follow the Erdington police team on Twitter www.x.com/ErdingtonWMP
