Major crime milestone for specialist unit

A unit tackling serious crime across the West Midlands has put more than 100 criminals behind bars for over 1,000 years during the last 12 months.

Our Major Crime Unit (MCU) reactive teams secured convictions for offences such as attempted murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and wounding.

The MCU is made up of a number of teams who investigate and target those involved in serious and organised crime in the region.

This work ranges from detectives developing intelligence to identify criminals, to skilfully working through vast quantities of CCTV, mobile phone data and forensic evidence to catch those involved in crimes where lives are often put at risk.

The MCU also run manhunts when a dangerous suspect needs arresting urgently. Officers use a range of overt and covert tactics - running 24/7 - to bring a suspect in as quickly and safely as possible.

Overall, the reactive teams were involved in putting 110 offenders behind bars with sentences totalling almost 1,140 years combined during 2025.

This included a man being locked up for 32 years for attempted murder after shooting his victim at point blank range in a Dudley car park, and two men being jailed for over 38 years for firearms offences after a man was shot in the leg in Smethwick.

Some of the unit's other recent successful prosecutions include:

• Man jailed for his part in violent attack involving weapons in Walsall | West Midlands Police
• Three teenagers sentenced after boy, 15, stabbed in Birmingham park | West Midlands Police
• Two men facing jail after man shot in Wolverhampton | West Midlands Police

Detective Chief Inspector Suraya Latif, of the MCU, said: "We’ve been able to successfully identify, and convict, a number of people involved in serious and organised crime across the West Midlands over the last year.

"Our teams are regularly investigating some of the most serious offences where offenders are prepared to use weapons and put lives at risk.

"We know the impact these crimes have on communities and we work closely with local policing areas to gather information, intelligence and take action.

"It's through the diligent work of officers that we've not only been able to take criminals off the streets for a significant period of time but also prevent further crime. We're committed to keeping our communities safe."

Our efforts to tackle serious and organised crime in the West Midlands are united under the banner of Operation Target.

Find out more about how we’re tackling those who cause the most harm to the West Midlands: Operation Target | West Midlands Police