20 arrests made in three-week crime crackdown in Walsall town centre

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Simon Foster visited the town on Friday (May 2) to check on the progress of Operation Prosper, which was launched on April 15.

A dedicated team of five officers and a sergeant have been patrolling the town centre to increase confidence and tackle a range of issues, including anti-social behaviour, knife crime, youth violence, theft and vehicle crime.

Some of the hotspots where patrols have been stepped up include the market area, the canal next to Gallery Square and Park Street Arcade, which links the bus station to the main shopping street.

And they said it is having an impact with 20 arrests for a range of offences having been made since the operation started.

Stolen cars have been recovered while weapons such as knives, knuckle dusters and nun chucks have been seized and drugs raids carried out.

Officers said people are appreciating their visible presence in the town and are having members of the public providing vital intel directly to them to aid investigations.

Operation Prosper was set up with £25,000 funding from the PCC as well as a further £20,000 from the local police budget. It will run for 12 weeks in total and Mr Foster said a review of the overall results will then take place.

He said: “I’ve had a really positive report back from the team. There have been numerous arrests and they are engaging in a whole variety of different disruption and enforcement activity.

“There has been a significant uplift in terms of intelligence from local members of the public who’ve been feeding back how positive they are about seeing that reassuring, visible, accessible police presence in Walsall town centre.

“It’s quite early days and it’s going to be running for a total of 12 weeks so we will be monitoring closely the outcomes generated as a consequence of the dedicated Operation Prosper.”

Sergeant Jennifer Hulston, from the Op Prosper team, added: “We want people to be coming into Walsall to use the facilities and know it is a safe town.

“We want people to enjoy themselves and to go to restaurants and bars, to have a shop and come and have a good time.

“But we need people to treat it with respect, look after it and that’s what we want to do for them as well, clearing the streets of criminality or anti-social behaviour.

“Walsall’s a good place to be, an amazing place to live and we need to encourage others to be on board.

“I’d like to thank the public for their feedback since Op Prosper launched – their intelligence has led to a number of good results in terms of arrests and disruption of criminal activity.

“We want Walsall to succeed and flourish and that’s what Operation Prosper has been set out to help us achieve.”