Businesses and shoppers have told us that they are concerned about shoplifting and business crime on Harborne High Street and the surrounding roads.

We are continuing to work alongside our partners and local business around the high street area to deter shoplifting offences. This includes close partnership work with security staff and shop workers, targeted patrols by our local officers and crime reduction advice and support. We also have a local Business Watch scheme in place working alongside our Business Improvement District (BID) colleagues.

Local residents and commuters around the Hagley Road corridor have told us about issues related to anti-social behaviour and prostitution.

This continues to be a concern for us and the local community, so our focus will remain. We have put in place a dedicated patrol plan for the area to ensure that we have officers in the area at the right time of day. We are also continuing to work with local businesses to share information and intelligence to help deter offences. As part of a longer-term solution we are also working with the Birmingham City Council outreach team to offer support and guidance to people who need it.

The Hagley Road area has a number of hotels, restaurants and businesses with car parks and we are concerned at the number of car crime offences taking place in the area.

Traditionally we have seen car crime offences where offenders would break into vehicles and steal valuables such mobile phones, sat navs, bags and tools. However, we are increasingly seeing more offences of ‘car cannibalisation;. This is where vehicles are being stripped for parts where they are parked, rather than being stolen and driven off.

The dedicated patrol plan we have in place for anti-social behaviour and prostitution in the area, also applies to this issue. A strong focus of our work around this issue is about prevention. We work with the ‘Design Out Crime’ team along the corridor to make it more difficult for opportunist offenders, while we partner with local businesses to help raise awareness with customers. We have also been speaking to local residents to remind them to remove valuable from their vehicles.