More than 150 guns taken off the streets of the West Midlands in crime crackdown

More than 150 guns have been taken off the streets of the West Midlands over the last year, police have said.

West Midlands Police said shootings have fallen across the region since a new crime unit was set up 12 months ago.

The force said 152 guns were recovered by officers - an increase from 121 the previous year.

Last year, there were also 92 firearms discharges, compared to 126 the previous year and 161 the year before.

The team responsible for the anti-gun work is its major crime unit - split into proactive and reactive teams - which was brought in as part of a major reorganisation of West Midlands Police last year.

Detective Superintendent Scott Griffiths, who oversees the teams, said: “We’ve had a really successful year of targeting serious and organised crime in the West Midlands.

“We’ve uncovered criminal gangs through our proactive work to seek out those who use violence and intimidation, and when we’ve had major incidents that have resulted in people being seriously injured on the streets of the West Midlands, we’ve acted swiftly and decisively to investigate and put those responsible behind bars for years to come.“

The figures also revealed that one of the six reactive teams alone charged more than 50 people in the last year, including 21 for attempted murder.

Mr Griffiths added: "The new way of working which came into place at the start of last year means we’ve got dedicated resources to quickly review CCTV, mobile phone and forensic evidence.

"But we’re also working really closely with local policing areas to understand the community impact and gather information and intelligence.”

The force also said that the major crime proactive team carried out 71 manhunts in the last year, with all suspects being found, 44 of them being wanted for murder.

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