'Absolutely disgraceful' - Cars in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter found stripped and broken into
People living in the Jewellery Quarter area of Birmingham fear car crime is "on the rise again", after continuously finding their cars stripped of parts and broken into.
Locals living at Pope Street apartment buildings, The Kettleworks and Albion House, are regularly finding their vehicles decimated.
Back in 2021, there was a spate of similar crime in the area, with criminals ripping apart cars in broad daylight.
But, recent car crime has led to locals paying thousands to repair their vehicles, after finding their bonnets and headlights stripped, or windows smashed.
Those living in the area believe their Corsas are being targeted because they are notoriously easy to disassemble.
They are now considering starting a petition to fight back against car crime and have contacted local police and Jewellery Quarter councillor Chaman Lal for help.
Kettleworks resident Ellen said: "Car crime in the area is absolutely absurd at the moment.
"I think we should put together an email and get as many residents to sign as possible to petition for more CCTV and police patrols in the area.
"There seems to be no way to avoid cars potentially being ripped apart - and I think it’s just absolutely disgraceful."
Talking about the plans, resident David Mole said: "Count me in. I’ll sign a petition for better surveillance, resident parking and street lighting in the area."
Another person added: "Car crime is clearly on the rise again. It calmed down for a while, but it's just getting worse and worse.
"And the worst thing is, there doesn’t seem to be a way to avoid it."
Local neighbourhood officer PC Matthew Dartnell said he was "aware this trend has started again".
He said: "We did have several offences last year where vehicles, especially Vauxhall Corsas, were broken into and bonnets and bumpers taken.
"But this appeared to stop when arrests were made. We have not had any offences reported to us for around six months or more.
"An incident on January 27 is the first that I am aware of, and members of the team have been asked to follow up with CCTV enquiries.
"I would like to add: it is not the case police can’t be bothered to investigate - just that we rarely have the resources available to do so."
Concillor Chaman Lal said: "I'm really angry that anyone would want to do this. There is no place for this in our society. I am horrified to see it causing unacceptable distress to residents.
"I have spoken to police to let them know my residents need action on this.
"This needs to stop so people can get on with their lives. With the cost of living going up, the last thing anyone needs is to be lumped with bills to have their cars repaired."
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