West Midlands Police Step Up Patrols in Birmingham for ‘Winter of Action’
Operation focuses on anti-social behaviour and protecting women and girls during the festive season
West Midlands Police have announced a significant increase in patrols across Birmingham as part of their newly launched Winter of Action campaign. The initiative aims to make city centres safer over the busy winter and festive period, with a particular focus on tackling anti-social behaviour and improving safety for women and girls.
Chief Superintendent Paul Joyce says that preventing violence against women and girls is a central priority this season. Measures include supporting safer nights out, improving exit routes from licensed premises, and promoting initiatives such as the Ask for Angela campaign.
“We’ll be looking at spiking prevention, ensuring that the licensed premises have got safe exit routes for women and girls,” a spokesperson explained. “We’ll be promoting the Angela campaign, looking and making sure that we’ve got safe spaces that are available for women to sort of retreat to should they need to.”
The police say they are also responding with stronger visible and covert presence on the streets. This includes increased uniformed patrols in night-time hotspots and additional plainclothes officers to identify potential offenders.
“We’re going to be looking at more visible patrols within town centres to provide more confidence to people using the areas at night,” Chief Superintendent Joyce said. “Looking at enforcement opportunities around knife crime, looking to reduce serious youth violence. We’re going to have plainclothes officers out there spotting for us.”
As Birmingham prepares for one of its busiest times of the year, police hope the heightened presence will reassure residents, support local businesses, and help create a safer environment for everyone enjoying the city’s nightlife.