November Monthly Community Update

November Monthly Community Update

Hello All,

I hope this message finds you well.

As we move through December, I wanted to share a quick round-up of what’s been happening across our local area in November and what’s coming up, and how we’re working together to keep our community safe and thriving.

In November the team have arrested 18 offenders for an array of offences including, Assault, Harassment, Domestic Violence offences and Recall to Prison.

The team have completed 11 stop searches and achieved 19 positive outcomes some resulting in prison sentences.

Op Sceptre week ran from the 17th - 24th November and is a national UK police initiative to tackle knife crime through education, enforcement and prevention. During this week Smiths Wood Neighbourhood policing team were involved in weapons sweeps in local open park lands and knife arch Operation at a local college to ensure the safety of pupils, staff and the wider community

🤝 Partnership Working

Agencies/Organisations we have been working closely with:

We worked with the RSPCA to rescue a dog that was being mistreated by its owner. The dog is now doing well and looking for a forever home. His owner will be prosecuted for animal cruelty offences by the RPSCA

These collaborations are helping us respond more effectively and holistically to community needs.

📅 Important Dates

We continue to hold our beat surgery at various locations and have listen to your request for evening events. We are in the process of looking for location to hold evening meetings and will advise dates when this has been arranged.

These dates are sometimes subject to change so please check the website before attending

Smith's Wood | Your area | West Midlands Police | West Midlands Police

11/12/25 Kingshurst Library - Cuppa with a Copper 10:30-11:30

18/12/25 Castle Bromwich Coffee Morning - Arden Hall 10:00-11:00

22/12/25 Beat Surgery - Elmwood Family Hub 15:00-16:00

Thank you to those who have enquired about starting up street watches in Smiths Wood and Castle Brom we will be in touch to progress further. Also, for those that have enquired regarding starting a Speed Watch in Kingshurst. If you would like to join the Street Watch or Speed Watch teams, please email: smithswood@westmidlands.police.uk

-We understand your concerns regarding Anti-social behaviour at Woodlands Campus Auckland drive and are working closely with the College and Solihull Community Housing to improve this situation.

-We have continued our primary school patrols to ensure parents and careers are not committing any road traffic offences, to ensure children are safe coming and going from school. Unfortunately, at some school’s officers have been met with hostility when asking drivers to politely move their vehicles when committing a traffic offence. We enforce school parking restrictions to keep children safe. Many parents are upset by our presence, commenting don’t we having anything better to do, the answer is no. This is because we take their children’s safety seriously. Are these necessary patrols pulling us from other pressing matters, yes they are.

We will now start issuing tickets to anyone committing a road traffic offence and these will arrive in the post not on your cars.

At the bottom of the letter I have included school parking information.

Reporting:

Report suspicious activity to 101

Contact Crimestoppers 100% anonymously Tel 0800 555 111 or report online

https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information

Crime prevention:

Home - Link West Midlands (connect-west-midlands-c2f965c2.netlify.app)

Crime prevention link Darker Nights | West Midlands Police

Thank you for your continued support and engagement.

Stay safe and take care,

School Parking Information

Police and schools in the Borough are committed to working together to protect our young people. West Midlands Police are providing you with this information to highlight the importance of road safety. Our ongoing work includes highlighting the dangers that are prevalent on the road and what young people can do to keep themselves safe. To help ensure this we will provide educational inputs to ensure that students are well-informed about the risks of the roads and what they can do to keep safe.

Parents/carers need to understand that young children are unaware of dangers on the road, as they cannot assess speed or distance until they are older, nor are they able to cope with traffic safely until then. Though they may be able to repeat simple instructions such as holding hands near the road, they will not fully understand the danger. As they have a very short attention span, they can easily be distracted and forget rules which is more commonplace if they are upset or excited.

Some of the things that you can do to prevent a road traffic accident from occurring with your child when walking:

Teach them to hold your hand or use walking reins

Keep them on the inside of the pavement when walking, wearing bright clothes to be seen easier

Teach them simple rules of the road but don’t expect them to remember

Start to teach simple ideas like ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ and ‘near’ and ‘far’ when you’re out. Count how long it takes for a car to go past while you’re waiting to cross. Play games/ask questions about which things are faster or slower like bicycles or cars.

Teach them the Green Cross Code by encouraging them to think, stop, look and listen, wait, look and listen again and arrive alive.

Remember that your child will copy what you do. Avoid stepping into the road without checking for traffic. Choose safe places to cross and explain to them why.

Visibility is a key issue all year-round, all-day round, whether children are walking or on their bike. However, over the autumn/winter months, it is especially important as the school day can start and end in twilight. Remember:

Wear bright clothing during the day and reflective clothing or accessories after dark

If wearing a hoodie, remove the hood when crossing the road as it could restrict their ability to see and hear traffic approaching

Always choose routes and cross at places that are well-lit

Where possible, cross the road at a pedestrian crossing

Remind older children who travel by themselves about road safety and the additional hazards in Autumn/Winter

Devices can be a major distraction, so encourage your child to put them away and take any headphones out while crossing the road

Young people have been taught about how to be safe when walking on the pavement and when crossing roads. It would be appreciated if you speak to your child about this and reinforce these good habits when walking with them. It should be noted that though common place, a privately-owned e-scooter can only be used in a private place with the landowner’s permission. They remain illegal to use on a road or in a public place. The following websites provide advice on road safety that are of benefit both parents/carers and young people of different ages:

https://www.think.gov.uk/education-resources/

https://capt.org.uk/pages/category/safety-advice-injury-types/

https://www.roadwise.co.uk/

In closing, many parents/carers take the view that by driving their children to school they are keeping them safe. Yet the combination of each individual decision means an increase in vehicle traffic and congestion particularly at the school gate. Many children now miss out on the opportunity to develop vital road safety skills with their parents on the way to school. They fail to build up confidence and learn the ability to manage risk walking around their local community. Walking can improve overall fitness levels in children and adults. It is a cheap low impact way to exercise. Getting active in our daily lives can have a big impact on health issues such as obesity.

We realise that there are some parents/carers who have no alternative but to drive their children to school, however, many are driving short distances where walking is a real option. Even those who must drive to school can do their bit by parking away from the school entrance and walking for part of the journey. What can you do to help keep everyone safe around the school gates?

Please don’t:

Block the road - emergency vehicles and other traffic may need access

Park on yellow lines, zigzags or block the school entrance

Park on the pavement, across dropped kerbs or residents’ driveways

Park opposite or within 10 metres of a junction

Park where you will cause inconvenience to other road users

Leave your vehicle with the engine still running

Stop in the middle of the road to drop your child off, even for a few seconds

These changes make a real difference to the congestion around schools, making the school run less stressful and far safer for everyone. Not only that but they will help your child’s education.

Yours sincerely,

Sergeant Stopher-Murray

Smith’s Wood Neighbourhood Policing Team

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Sergeant Stopher-Murray
(Police, Sgt, smiths wood)