A safer Sandwell, working with the police to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and making Sandwell safer for all our residents.

Many of the complaints which come in to the council concern anti-social behaviour by noisy and nuisance neighbours, or ‘problem properties’ which bring an area down. No-one can take action over the occasional party but, when they become a frequent disturbance, they can make people’s lives a misery. We will take strong action against the perpetrators, involving enforcement, the police, housing and including legal action where necessary.

We also frequently hear people say that they, or their children, do not feel safe going out in our local parks. We will ask officers to develop a safer parks and open spaces strategy to deal with these issues.

The current policy of introducing traffic calming measures only after there has been a serious accident can appear both a crude and cruel response. We will review this policy, talk to other councils to look at best practice, and come forward with suggestions for how to reduce speeding vehicles.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic there has been a rise in domestic abuse. We are committed to working with Black Country Women’s Aid, the lead organisation for dealing with issues of domestic abuse and violence against women and girls. We want to ensure there are safe, confidential and secure spaces for those at risk of, or affected by, domestic abuse.

We will work closely with Simon Foster, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner to identify areas of high crime and disorder, and support his plans to introduce 450 community police officers on the street.

In areas of high anti-social behaviour we will work with residents, wardens and the police, and we will introduce Public Space Protection Orders giving increased powers to deal with these issues where appropriate.