IT’S beeen a rollercoast year for West Mercia Police in Redditch in 2015 with some shocking crimes to investigate and an innovative new project to help keep the town safe.
The year started off on a positive note in January with reports of crime dropping from 6,290 incidents a year to 3,860.
Later in the month the police were successful in convicting a sex offending pensioner who was sentenced to 25 years in prison by Worcester Crown Court.
Raymon Coburn, was found guilty of 17 charges against three different victims under the age of 13 which took place between 1974 and 1994.
In March in a more light-hearted story Josh Brown, a 12-year-old from Alvechurch found a phone belonging to teenager, Michelle Hickinbottom, which he handed in and refused a reward for.
His mum, Angela, said: “We’re so proud of Josh. He just thought of it as doing the right thing. He said he wasn’t going to take any money off her and he’d just ask her to do something nice for someone else in future.”
A covert operation then led to the conviction of two Redditch men, Kristoffer Bell-Kristoffer Bell, and Michael Ward, who were part of a 17 person drug ring who collectively earned themselves more than 130 years in jail. Bell, 34, was given 14 years in prison and Ward was given 20 months in custody.
Another Redditch criminal, John Dennis, hit the headlines in July after he had his ten year sentence for five counts of rape doubled at the Court of Appeal. Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP filed the appeal on the grounds of the seriousness and magnitude of the attacks which happened over a sustained period of time.
Officers’ positive work continued to August when one of Redditch’s most wanted criminals, Paul Buchanan, who was being hunted on suspicion of attempted rape, was caught in Portugal after trying to travel on a train with no ticket or identification.
Local police then had a key role in the conviction of two men, in September, who were conspiring to sell £730,000 worth of heroin. Ali Raza Shah was given ten years in jail and Christopher John Leslie received six years in prison.
October saw a surge of campaigns by the police against hate crime after their figures showed 165 incidents were reported last year. Ch Supt Lee Davenport hosted a web chat to give members of the public the chance to find out more about hate crime.
In the same month residents were shaken by a collision on Woodrow Drive which killed a young motorcyclist and led to a 19-year-old man being arrested on suspicion of death by dangerous driving.
In November a rapist was brought to justice after attacking a woman along a footpath in Alvechurch three decades earlier.
An investigation by the Major Crime Review team and advances in DNA technology meant Steven Hearl was sentenced to six years in jail
This month residents were shocked to hear the story of a brave mother who was subjected to a terrifying raid on her home in which her son was stabbed while trying to protect her. The intruders broke in on November 9 and demanded cash from the family. A reward has since been posted for anyone who has information on the attack.
Bomb scares also left the town in panic this month with soldiers and police rallying round to evacuate areas of the town centre and investigating reports of suspicious packages which, thankfully turned out not to be dangerous.
Meanwhile at the start of this month Studley bank robber Mark Hagan was jailed for four years after Redditch police recognised his distinctive handwriting on the note he passed to the cashier demanding money.
He was picked up coming out of the Royal Enfield Pub on Unicorn Hill and sentenced at Leamington Justice Centre.
Lastly this year the town was saddened to hear of the death of Stacey Sollis, whose body was found in a flat on Knowle Close, Church Hill on December 13. A 33-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and has been bailed until January.
Inspector Darren Webster of Redditch police said: “Locally the neighbourhood teams have been very active in supporting the local communities of Redditch, during 2015 this included operations to target Illegal Money Lending (Op Red Admiral), Drugs and the arrest of Outstanding Wanted Persons (Op Protect) in June with the closing of a local premises where Anti Social Behaviour was affecting the daily lives of local residents in Batchley.
“We continue to listen to community concerns through regular meetings like PACT and pop ups where we carryout surveys of what local people want from their police.
“On a sadder note is an increase in the numbers of people who have lost their lives or been seriously injured across North Worcestershire, with 10 fatalities during 2015 and over 70 people seriously injured on the roads.”
