We're working in partnership with West Midlands Police to launch ‘Canal Watch', a new crime busting scheme which focuses on tackling the issues of petty crime along the waterways.
Working alongside boaters and local residents this new pilot project, which will focus on a 12.5 mile stretch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in and around the Solihull area, will involve the community working together to deal with some of the social issues and localised crime that can be associated along urban stretches of waterway.
Working together
Len Cresswell, West Midlands partnership member for the Canal & River Trust, said: “The canals in the West Midlands are beautiful and thousands of people visit them each year without incident but just like any town and city there is unfortunately a small minority of people who create problems along the waterways and spoil them for everyone.
“This new project really encourages the local community to work together, report any issues they see and ultimately try to deter anti-social behaviour along the canal.”
PC Nichol Hodkinson from West Midlands Police, said: “We are really lucky to have so many canals in the West Midlands and generally petty crime and anti-social behaviour is reasonably low along the waterways. This project will hopefully encourage the community to work together, become more aware of what is happening right on their doorstep and make the waterways in and around Solihull an even better place to visit.”
Leaflets and stickers explaining the Canal Watch scheme will be delivered to local people and boaters in the next few weeks encouraging them to take part in this new pilot project.
