Operation Skybridge: Team carries out positive work across Quinton

Operation Skybridge, our proactive crime team in Birmingham have continued their positive work across the city.

Officers from the Op Skybridge team have been deployed to Quinton carrying out proactive enforcement, and engaging with the community to build a positive relationship.

The team has been issuing messages via WM Now, and going out to meet the community and listen to their concerns. The community have welcomed the team into the area, providing regular communication and engagement which has formed a great, working relationship.

The team made nine arrests during their deployment in the area, which led to six charges.

These charges included offences such as possession of a knife, possession of an imitation firearm, and multiple drugs offences.

In total, the team seized 15 vehicles while working in Quinton, in which three were found to be stolen.

Weapons and drugs have also been a target, with three knives seized, a taser, an imitation firearm, and large amounts of Class B and Class C drugs.

During their deployment, St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Birmingham reached out to the Skybridge team, which resulted in Sgt Danny Fulford and PC Sam Wilkes delivering an input to Year 13 A Level Criminology students.

The duo presented an hour long input with the students followed by a Q&A, with many of the teenagers expressing an interest in joining the force to becoming detectives.

Sgt Fulford and PC Wilkes provided an insight into how they investigate crimes, gather evidence and charge suspects.

Students were then able to apply their learning to a realistic scenario before engaging in a Q&A session, where students explored some of the tools used in police work.

Sgt Danny Fulford, from the Op Skybridge team, said: "This was a great opportunity to share more about the work we do and expertise with students who one day could be detectives within the force.

"There was a genuine interest in the work that Skybridge carry out across Birmingham including our methods which we were able to showcase to an eager-to-learn group."

The team work closely with the local neighbourhood team in each area to understand the priorities and concerns of the local people.

The Skybridge team then provide a highly visible presence with uniformed and plain clothes officers in the area to deter criminal activity, make arrests and offer reassurance to the local community.

The team have been well received in Quinton, with a number of community members reaching out to show their appreciation for the proactive policing.

Sgt Danny Fulford added: "The team have formed a great relationship with the community here in Quinton, and because of the positive engagement, we have been able to tackle the issues right at the heart of the area.

"This is pure proactive policing, causing maximum difficulty and disruption to those who are doing the most harm to our communities.

“The team work together excellently, and have shown that in each area we target, we are able to cause disruption to repeated crime.”

Operation Skybridge is a serious and acquisitive crime (SAC) team, and exclusively prevent and detect crimes such as burglary, robbery, vehicle and drug crime in the allocated area they are positioned in.