News Room

Latest news Christmas crook caught after posing for pic with stolen champagne 01/06/2016 A burglar who swiped a prized champagne collection during a break-in has been jailed after West Midlands Police found footage of him celebrating Christmas with the stolen bubbly. Jacob Collaire (left) and fellow thief Kareem Nasser (right) raided two homes in the early hours of 23 December last year and bagged valuables totalling almost £20,000. At one home in Vibart Road, Stechford, the pair made off with eight bottles of champagne, including a 2004 Taittinger and a rare 1973 Bollinger. Detectives arrested Collaire (21) and 19-year-old Nasser on 29 December after traffic cops…

Latest news Police appeal following Edgbaston burglary 01/06/2016 Officers in Birmingham are trying to trace Kristin Krumminacher, age 20, who is wanted for a burglary in the Edgbaston area. On 20 April sometime between 1.30pm and 3.30pm three men entered the back garden of the property on Farquhar Road and forced open a rear patio door to gain entry. The suspects made off with a safe containing tens of thousands of pounds worth of jewellery and a substantial amount of cash, bank cards and documents. Officers conducting CCTV enquiries in relation to the use of the stolen bank cards were able to identify Krumminacher, and a 20-year-old man who has since been ar…

Latest news Chief welcomes reopening of pub bombings inquest 01/06/2016 Today the Birmingham Coroner has, after careful deliberation, decided to open the inquest into the deaths of the 21 people killed in the bombings of the Tavern in the Town and Mulberry Bush pubs in Birmingham City Centre in 1974. Chief Constable Dave Thompson said: “I support the Coroner’s decision and West Midlands Police will assist the process now underway. “The Birmingham Pub Bombings of 1974 are one of the most serious terrorist attacks in the UK. West Midlands Police not only failed to catch those responsible but caused a miscarriage of justice. I have said and reiterate again, it is th…

Latest news Appeal for witnesses after shots fired at house in Aston 01/06/2016 Detectives have launched an investigation after shots were fired at an address in Aston in the early hours of Monday 30 May. At around 3.30am it is believed several rounds were discharged at a house in Park Lane. They caused minor damage to the property but nobody was injured. Officers are appealing for anyone who was in the area at the time and saw anything suspicious to come forward. Detective Sergeant David Hammersley, from Force CID, said: “We believe this was a targeted crime intended to cause damage to the address and we don’t believe there is any wider risk to members of the pub…

Latest news Teenager who died in Dudley collision named 31/05/2016 A teenager who died in a collision in Dudley over the weekend has been named. Brandon Holt, 17, was riding on Wrens Nest Road at around 6.15am on Sunday 29 May when his motorbike collided with a stationary car. He was treated by paramedics at the scene and taken to hospital but he died later that day. Officers are now appealing to anyone who may have been in the area at the time or who witnessed the collision to come forward. PC Damian Gibson, from the Regional Collision Investigation Unit, said: “We are appealing for witnesses to come forward following the weekend’s tragic incident. “We have spe…

Latest news 40 years jail for armed robbery duo 31/05/2016 Armed robbers who threatened women in their own homes - including a mother with her two-year-old child - have been jailed for 40 years after being tracked down by West Midlands Police. The pair had an imitation gun and a knife as they targeted three homes in Birmingham between 24 and 25 April last year; before making off with Ipads, phone and a credit card. Officers used CCTV, DNA evidence and phone records to connect Donroy Joseph and Kendell Farrell , both aged 25, to the crimes - which saw two of their victims suffer non-life threatening stab wounds. Joseph (left), of Geach Street, and Farrell (right),…

Latest news WMP join Birmingham Pride party 30/05/2016 There was a sea of colour and entertainment as West Midlands Police joined more than 40,000 people for a weekend of fun at Birmingham Pride . Both uniformed and plain-clothes officers patrolled alongside and mingled with Saturday’s parade as the festivities and music passed largely incident-free through the centre of the city. Additional officers from neighbouring police teams were joined by colleagues from across Birmingham throughout the weekend-long event as well as special constables, to prevent crime and ensure revellers safety. And despite large crowds partying into the early hours there were no repor…

Latest news Coventry men jailed for nationwide convenience store crime spree 30/05/2016 Two Coventry men have been jailed for more than nine years after a nationwide crime spree netting thousands of pounds. The duo were convicted of 19 convenience store raids from York to Cheshire and the midlands, and Bristol to Southsea and even the Isle of Wight. Scott Johnston, aged 35 from Lancia Close and Scott Warner, aged 33 from Missing Oak Close, Bedworth, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing and were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (27 May). From left to right: Scott Johnston and Scott Warner Warner was sentenced to 52 months for conspiracy to commit b…

Latest news Troublemakers receive the red card for Euro 2016 30/05/2016 Football troublemakers are being told to surrender their passports ahead of Euro 2016 – or face being arrested by West Midlands Police. The force’s specialist Football Unit has sent warning letters to all 160 fans with Football Banning Orders (FBO) to their name – orders that prevent them attending this summer’s football fiesta – and instructing them to hand over passports to ensure they don’t travel to France. People bound by FBO conditions must hand over travel documents to a designated police station during the passport surrender window that runs for 48 hours over tomorrow (31 May) and Wed…

Latest news Investigation launched as man found unconscious after mass brawl 29/05/2016 Detectives in Coventry have launched an investigation after a man was found unconscious in the street following a mass brawl outside a nightclub. Police were called to Hertford Place at 6.15am this morning (Sun 29 May) to find a man slumped on the floor with a serious head injury. The 25-year-old was taken to hospital where he is being monitored having suffered a fractured skull. It’s understood upwards of 20 people were involved in the disorder, near So Club Room in Hertford Place, during which the victim was struck over the head with an object. Detective Sergeant Michelle Ki…

Latest news WMPeople: DI Paul Talbot – offering support to crash victims’ families 29/05/2016 It may only be a quick glance at a mobile phone – but a loss of concentration at the wheel can have disastrous consequences. The dangers of being distracted while driving are unfortunately all too real for West Midlands Police’s Collision Investigation Unit. Inspector Paul Talbot currently heads up the department – part of the Central Motorway Police Group – which investigates more than 270 crashes a year in the West Midlands and Staffordshire areas. The 39-year-old has spent most of his career in traffic policing and is the man behind a specialist family liaison unit whi…

Latest news Double Dutch! New Dutch Herder Bart strikes twice to catch car theft suspects 29/05/2016 It was a case of double Dutch as West Midlands Police’s new Dutch Herder Bart struck twice in the space of a few days to track down fleeing car theft suspects. He’s the first Dutch Herder to join WMP’s four-legged crime fighting ranks as the force’s dog trainers explore opportunities to introduce different breeds to protect the public and keep criminals on their toes. Alongside handler PC Keith Bennett (pictured), Bart hit the streets for the first time last month – and he’s already showing an insatiable appetite for police work and scored some notable successes. O…

Latest news Hundreds of foreign crime suspects arrested in latest Op Trivium offensive 28/05/2016 Hundreds of foreign crime suspects were arrested during the latest nationwide crackdown on foreign crooks operating or taking shelter on these shores. Operation Trivium (May 16-20) saw West Midlands Police working with continental cops and UK partner agencies from a Birmingham HQ to target Foreign National Offenders (FNOs). Officers from Romania, Lithuania and Holland – plus a Finnish officer representing Europol – joined the National Crime Agency, Gangmasters Licensing Authority, and Immigration Enforcement at the #OpTrivium command centre in Edgbaston. The offensive…

Latest news The Crime Lord Rap: cowardly conman’s lyrical boasts of being “da real don” 28/05/2016 Fraudster Jahangir Khan penned rap lyrics in which he boasted of being a notorious crime lord and “da underground’s finest” – but in reality he was a “cowardly” crook who tricked pensioners out of their savings. Khan was jailed for more than three years yesterday (Fri 27 May) after West Midlands Police exposed a phone scam – dubbed Courier Fraud – that saw him and three accomplices pose as police officers and bank officials to con elderly residents. When detectives from the force’s Economic Crime Unit arrested the 23-year-old they found photos of him showing off desig…

Latest news Four arrested during dawn raid in Wolverhampton 27/05/2016 Four people have been arrested after drugs and firearms were recovered in Wolverhampton following a dawn raid by police this morning (Friday 27 May). Officers from the Serious Organised Crime Unit, supported by local neighbourhood officers, executed a search warrant in Stanley Road, Bushbury in the early hours. Two men, aged 22 and 24, and two women, aged 24 and 33, were arrested on suspicion of possession of firearms and possession of Class A and Class B drugs with intent to supply. Two firearms and a large amount of what officers believe to be crack cocaine and heroin were recovered along wit…