More than 70 arrests and 20 weapons seized in crime crackdown operations across Wolverhampton
More than 70 people have been arrested during crackdowns on violence and serious organised crime activity in Wolverhampton.
West Midlands Police said in the last six weeks its Wolverhampton teams made 61 arrests on suspicion of offences including possessing a weapon and disorder. A further 13 arrests were made during last month's Sceptre week, part of a national initiative tackling knife crime.
Under the separate Op Redfox initiative, patrols and weapons sweeps have resulted in 130 stop-and-searches being carried out and 20 weapons being confiscated, including knives, baseball bats and a crossbow.
Officers armed with warrants carried out swoops in the city centre, Whitmore Reans, East Park, Heath Town, Bilston and Dunstall.
The force stated: "We want our open spaces to remain places for everyone to enjoy and feel safe in and we’ve brought in additional resources to identify those involved in serious organised crime locally.
"We're also educating young people with our schools teams delivering inputs at primaries, secondaries and colleges across the city, with more than 1,450 students and staff hearing about the realities and perils of carrying knives and getting involved in County Lines and drug dealing activity.
"As part of Op Redfox we are urging local people to support our work by sharing information they may have about local gang activity or crime across the city. Our position is clear, gang activity, carrying weapons or getting involved in organised crime – such as drug dealing – is not glamourous and can put lives at risk."
Possession of a firearm carries a minimum five-year jail sentence.
Op Redfox was launched in April in response to residents' concerns over crime and community safety.
