The most recent West Midlands Police crime stats make for difficult reading. With things like knife crime, anti-social behaviour (ASB), burglaries, robberies and drugs abuse offences continually rising year-on-year, it’s time to stop and to consider how we can all play a small part in redressing the situation.
Surely community cohesion across Wolverhampton is key to building a better, safer environment across the City
Whilst additional Police funding and more Police staff on the beat in Wolverhampton are key in tackling the issue, along with incentives such as stop and search, multi-agency cooperation, greater intelligence sharing etc, at a more grass roots level, we also need to understand what the underlying causes are of violent crime on our streets.
Last year, almost 7,000 arrests for offensive weapons and 900 arrests for firearms were made following a stop and search
By listening, acknowledging different cultures and traditions, and respecting each other’s perspectives through greater awareness, we can start to build a cohesive community where we live as one - and feel safer and happier. My team is hard at work across Wolverhampton, talking to people, visiting special anti-crime projects and doing their best to create greater community cohesion, tolerance and cooperation.
Data source: https://www.ukcrimestats.com/Police_Force/West_Midlands_Police
Stuart Anderson is the Conservative parliamentary party candidate for Wolverhampton South West. A British Army veteran turned entrepreneur working extensively across the global security industry, Stuart has spent over a decade serving his community, pursuing positive change and supporting multiple charities and other good causes.