Monthly Community Update from Sgt Simic - May & June 2026

Dear Residents of Solihull Rural (East),

I hope you are all enjoying the brighter and warmer weather now we are moving into the late spring and early summer months.

Over the last couple of months my team have continued to focus on the issues causing the most concern across our community, and that local issues are addressed robustly and proactively.

Shop theft continues to be a key issue for us, particularly of note is Balsall Common and Meriden areas where we have seen a visible increase in new reports. These are generally low-level thefts from the stores, but we understand the huge impact they have on local businesses, their staff and the wider community. We are working with the stores closely to obtain evidence and deal with offenders as quickly as possible. Repeat offenders are being actively issued with Community Protection Warnings, Community Protection Notices and Community Behaviour Orders. As such we are taking firm action and utilising all available enforcement powers to tackle this persistent problem.

ASB has continued to remain another significant area of demand, particularly in Knowle and NEC/Resorts World. These incidents involve groups of school age youths with their faces covered causing criminal damage, low level public disorder and a general nuisance to members of the public. Of note is a recent incident involving 3 youths carrying machete’s and incapacitant spray. All 3 of whom were identified and arrested. Incidents of this nature are extremely concerning, and I want to reassure residents that we do not tolerate any form of violence or ASB. We are working closely with our Schools Team who have a close relationship with the local schools across Solihull to identify offenders and we are taking positive action against them where possible.

Another priority of ours is vehicle crime – particularly theft from unattended cars. Several reports are coming through of vehicles parked across Marston Green and Bickenhill areas being broken into and items inside being stolen. We are working to identify patterns in this offending to identify repeat offenders. I would like to ask all residents to remain vigilant and take simple preventative measures to reduce the risk of becoming a victim. Please ensure vehicles are always locked when unattended, valuables are removed from sight, and vehicles are parked in well-lit areas covered by CCTV. Never leave anything of value visible inside your vehicle, even temporarily, as opportunist thieves will often target money or valuable items left on display.

As always, we appreciate the continued support from our communities and the information residents provide to us. Please continue reporting incidents and suspicious activity, as this information is invaluable in helping us keep our neighbourhoods safe.

I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable start to Summer 2026.

Upcoming Events:

May:

June:

Details of future meetings and events can be found on the force website by searching “Your area”, or via the link below (which is updated regularly):

Solihull Rural | Your area | West Midlands Police | West Midlands Police

Kind regards,
Sergeant Simic