Campaign to tackle gang violence and drug dealing

A campaign to anonymously report on criminal gangs in Wolverhampton has been launched.

Crimestoppers is urging the public to contact them to report illegal activity, county lines drug dealing networks, and the violence and exploitation criminals carry out in communities.

The charity said the information shared would not involve police, courts and witness statements, and would just be people reporting what they have seen or heard.

The city has seen a recent spate of gun and knife crime, with the West Midlands region previously being the knife crime capital of the UK.

But West Midlands Police chief constable Craig Guilford told BBC Radio WM there was no special reason the city had been highlighted and praised the anonymous nature of using Crimestoppers to tackle local crime.

"We work with them, and this happens in every police force across the country, you put forward local initiatives that they push and they'll push for you," he said.

"So clearly, from a Wolverhampton perspective, the local team has been asked around initiatives and has obviously pushed the element of gangs.

"That's an important thing for us because we want people to be able to report it to either us direct.... but the good thing about Crimestoppers is... they need the information because it's given anonymously and that's then passed through to the police."

'Brave step'

Wolverhampton West MP Warinder Juss called on ministers last summer to step up efforts to tackle knife crime.

The city is also part of £2.3m Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV), which was launched in 2023, partly in response to the escalation in teen stabbings.

Crimestoppers said it wanted residents to think about the names of members of serious crime gangs in their area, what premises were used for criminal activity, and who was bringing weapons in and where they were being stored.

Alan Edwards, West Midlands regional manager at the charity, said: "Only by individuals taking the brave step of reporting anonymously what is going on in their areas to our charity will we see a cut in the pain and suffering that our communities face.

"The information you and others come forward with may help save lives and make your area safer for you and your family. The one thing that these gangs fear most is that people will say enough is enough and pass on vital information about their harmful and sometimes fatal activity."

The charity can be contacted by phone or online. Computer IP addresses will never traced and there is no caller line display, the charity added.