West Midlands PCC quizzed about police presence, station closures and violent crime in Walsall

PCC Simon Foster was questioned about the lack of police presence, the closure of most police stations across Walsall, and ‘two-tier policing’.

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The Police and Crime Commissioner for West Midlands Police is an elected official who exists to hold the police force to account on behalf of the public.

Foster won a High Court challenge in March 2024, against government plans to merge the PCC role with the West Midlands Mayor.

Simon Foster, Labour, was re-elected in May 2024. According to the Association of PCCs, his annual salary costs taxpayers £101,900.

At the four-hour-long meeting at Walsall Council on April 17, Foster explained that the population of the area covered by the West Midlands Police force is equal to the population of Wales, and on a similar scale to Greater Manchester Police.

However, he said the force was ‘systematically underfunded’ compared to other forces across the UK ‘to the tune of £40million per year’.

Foster said Greater Manchester Police has the same number of officers now as they did in 2010, but the West Midlands force is still 700 officers down.

He said it was ‘inexplicable and inexcusable’ to be ‘shortchanged and ripped off’.

Chief superintendent for Walsall, Phil Dolby, was also in attendance at the meeting.

Dolby reported an overall reduction in calls to Walsall Police since the beginning of January 2023, and that the Walsall area was ‘best in the force’ for response times to calls.

Several councillors quizzed both Foster and Dolby about crime and policing across the borough.

Councillor Suki Samra asked: “Commissioner, in your police and crime plan, your main priority is to continue to rebuild community policing.

“If you were to ask our residents, they would say, if anything, that community policing has depleted; they never see police officers.

“Cumulative policing, I would say to you, in the last four years, hasn’t been rebuilt. How can you guarantee that you will take the chief constable to task to make sure the police levels are back at a level that our residents should rightly have?”

Foster responded: “Rebuilding community policing has always been, I would say, if I had to pick one my top priority.

“Equally, I don’t underestimate the task in hand. As you know, we lost 25 per cent of police officers, 20 per cent of our PCSOS, and community policing was dismantled. It was a big mistake, a false economy.

“Plainly, over the period of 10 years, it isn’t going to be rebuilt within two or three years. I believe it is being achieved because there is a national neighbourhood policing guarantee.”

Treasurer to the PCC, Jane Heppel, added: “We’ve been given £12.2 million as part of the neighbourhood policing guarantee.

“What that will allow us to do is increase numbers in neighbourhood policing by 49 per cent. We should feel this, and it should be visible in the community.”

Councillor Matt Ward, leader of the labour group at Walsall Council, asked what was being done to tackle off-road bikers.

Chief Superintendent Dolby responded: “We had 50 odd bikes off the road last year, we are already at 40 this year.

“However, supply of those things is the problem, that is out of our hands. The fact they can quickly get another one, a lot of the time they’re given by adults and parents and it’s very frustrating.

“We are one of the more successful areas of dealing with that. But I’m going to say this is a societal problem, which needs a multi-tiered response.”

Councillor Keith Sears said: “There’s no confidence in the police, so long as the public has this perception of two-tier policing. That’s my question.”

Superintendent Dolby said: “Would you please define what you think two-tier policing is? I’m not trying to be obtuse, councillor, I want to give you a respectful and informed answer, but I’m not totally sure what you mean.”

Councillor Sears said: “People think there’s two-tier policing. You know exactly what the question is. Two-tier policing, as the public see it, is one law for one and another for another. There are different communities, Asian communities, and white communities. That’s what their perception is.”

Committee chairman John Murray interrupted: “Councillor Sears, you’re referring to ethnicity, basically. The different ethnic communities that we do have in our borough. That’s what Sears is referring to.”

Superintendent Dolby responded: “There is no such thing in West Midlands Police, or in Police UK, as two tier policing.

“I think that’s a populist view that is politically motivated. And I think it is one that does a disservice to all of my officers who are from all backgrounds, too.

“On any given day, one of my 400 officers is injured in the line of duty, keeping all communities safe.

“I get quite exercised about that question when it is asked. I will challenge anybody to tell me that any of the staff in Walsall is two-tier.

“I can’t tell you how brave your cops are. I can’t tell you how much they’re not at home because they’re here keeping you safe. We serve without fear or favour.”

Councillor Murray added: “I don’t doubt for one minute that there is no two-tier policing in Walsall. Councillor said there is a perception of two-tier policing. That’s the crux of it. If there is a perception, are you, and the officers doing anything to allay that perception?”

Dolby said: “Every minute, of every day, of every job we go to. It’s politically motivated and populist nonsense and it depends on what you read and watch.

“There is no actual evidence and I would ask anybody to show me some because I can refute that with the blood and bravery of my staff.”

On the same topic, councillor Adam Hicken said: “If we look at stop and searches per 1000 residents by ethnicity in the West Midlands, if you’re white and white British, it’s roughly around 2.3 per cent. If you’re black or black British that gets close to 11.85 per 1000. If you’re mixed race, 10.14. If you’re from any other mixed ethnic background, it’s 21.53.

“So, based on the number of stop and searches, there could be a perception of two-tier policing.”

Superintendent Dolby responded: “Two-tier policing is a complicated term. It is politically charged and I think the previous question was in a different direction from yours.

“In terms of the proportionality of stop and searches, it’s a really complicated thing.

“If you’re black or of black heritage, you’re 5.5 times more likely to be stopped and searched in England than in Wales. In the West Midlands, we’ve reduced that to 2.2.

“On the one hand, that sounds good, but on the other, you can say if you’re black, you’re 2.2 times more likely to be stopped than your white counterpart.

“I feel I can’t show enough people, what we’re trying to do to make stop and search as fair as we possibly can. But it needs to be done because it saves lives.

“You don’t want to lose stop and search, but what you do need is to do it professionally and for it to be intelligence-led. We’re not perfect but we’re making strides and it’s with communities that we need to look them in the eye and say we’ve done our best.”

Councillor Josh Whitehouse asked about the closure of police stations across Walsall.

He said: “Commissioner, you want to rebuild community policing, I think everyone in this room would agree that this should be a priority.

“But can the public buy into that when the for sale sign has gone up at Aldridge police station, Willenhall station’s closed, Darlaston, Walsall. Only Bloxwich is left which serves the whole borough. How can the public know that community policing is being rebuilt when there’s no front desk services?”

Foster responded: “Aldridge Police Station is moving to the local fire station, so that will remain as a local police base.

“In terms of the wider issue here, sadly for many years we did not have a national commitment to investing in and believing in local community police stations, that’s why across the country, about 640 community police stations closed in the country.

“Too often, West Midlands Police, as well as other forces have had to choose officers or underused and inefficient police buildings. In those times you have to prioritise officers. It is them who tackle crime, not buildings. Less square feet, more bobbies on the beat.

“None of the police stations will have been disposed of until a suitable alternative location has been identified for the local neighbourhood policing team to ensure that they’re relocated within the community they’re servicing to a police base.”

Heppel added: “Making these shifts in the estate is absolutely relied upon. We will deliver £4m a year worth of savings as well as making sure buildings we are retaining get up to a standard that they haven’t been at for decades.

“We are looking forward to our officers having a much better standard in our bases. They have gyms, canteens, and their wellbeing is being served much better.”

Councillor Hicken said Wolverhampton and Walsall are the third highest areas in the country for levels of shoplifting. He asked the PCC what is happening to tackle the issue.

Foster said: “It is absolutely true that shop theft remains stubbornly high. What is driving that? The primary driver is people engaging in shop theft to feed their addiction. Half of all burglary, robbery, shop theft, and theft from a person is a consequence of people who are addicted to drugs, who engage in that criminality to fund that.

“One way to deal with shoplifting is to deal with the underlying causes.”

The leader of Walsall Council, councillor Garry Perry, made a 20 minute speech about crime in Walsall.

He said: “I want to start by acknowledging and thanking front line police and PCSOs for the work they do in Walsall because it is challenging.

“Despite statistics, we have seen some significant shocks in Walsall, particularly in relation to violent crime and disorder, knife crime in particular, and unfortunately deaths as a result of that.

“In the face of that, I think they operate in very difficult circumstances. And I think that their work should never be overshadowed by any failures of political leadership wherever that may come from.

“It won’t come as any surprise to Simon, to the police crime commissioner, that it is a role I do not support, not him as an individual, but I don’t support the role of the office of Police and Crime Commissioner.

“Statistically, despite a lot of things that have been said this evening, Walsall is still underfunded in terms of the police grant, second lowest to Solihull.

“If you look at the PCC website for the last two years, the office costs relating to that role has been over 5 million pounds. To my reckoning, that would have paid for 120 police officers and over 160 PCSOS, give or take.”

Foster described the leader as ‘combative’ and ‘challenging’. He said “It’s not a competition. I think it would be more constructive if there was more collaboration and cooperation around this.

“So, what I would say is it might be more constructive if we were to arrange to meet after this committee hearing at the earliest opportunity. We can sit down, you and I, and we have a think about how we can more effectively work together to achieve the best for Walsall. Partnerships are essential.”