You may have been reading recently about the spate of crime in Pheasey and especially car thefts. Just locally to me we have seen one on Hillingford, Collingwood and Tyndale. Same modus operandi, same result.

There has been a local group set up for this – LINK on facebook and is full of interesting debate.

Anyone who knows me, will know I will lay the blame on this full on the government’s shoulders for cutting 20K police and having to force West Midlands Police to close most local stations (our closest is now Bloxwich !!).

As an ex labour member it pains me to say but we have not seen anything from Valerie Vaz on the estate and/or working with the Tory councillors on this (maybe they are ashamed at the cuts, but they happened).

Some people want to copy Streetly and pay for private security but I am totally against this for

1. We pay our taxes for policing and I would rather no tax cut as per this budget and for that to go to the police than pay private security
2. Private security may have limited powers but they are not allowed to chase suspects etc
3. In an area as large as Pheasey, does anyone really believe it is a deterrent

Sometimes you life you have to admit who you voted for may have caused this and we (as I was then in Labour) did say this would happen.

However we need to stop this and the only way is for visible police patrols but frankly do they have the resourcing as described above ?