WM Police & Crime Commissioner Simon Foster spoke to WM News about how he’s faring one year into his second term.
Around 5,000 arrests are made by West Midlands Police each month – up from 4,000 two years ago.
Of these arrests, 13% lead to “positive outcomes” – convictions, cautions etc – compared to between 5% and 6% in 2023.
Just over a year since being re-elected to his second term as West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster is pleased with these numbers.
“This means more people are being brought to justice now than there were,” says the Birmingham-based father of three grown-up daughters who has spent 45 years in law enforcement, initially as a solicitor.
WMP among best 999 call pick-up time in the UK
Anyone making emergency 999 police calls in the West Midlands is answered in just three seconds on average – another stat Foster is proud of.
“That’s one of the best in the country,” says Foster, speaking to WM News at WMP’s Lloyd House headquarters.
If the call requires, officers appear on the scene, whether it’s downtown Birmingham or a village the far side of Halsowen, on average in 10 minutes and 38 seconds. That is the average – there will be some variations across the seven local policing areas in the WMP region.
While police-recorded crime – including burglary, robbery, vehicle and knife crime – dropped by an average of 6.1% across the West Midlands in 2024/25 versus 2023/24, there has been a 7.1% rise in sexual assaults.
This rise in reported sexual assaults should be viewed positively, says Foster, as these are crimes which are, historically, “significantly under-reported” due to the personal ordeal and shame often felt by victims. This increase in reported sexual offences is also a consequence of a recent change in Home Office recording rules, which, for example, now include things like revenge porn.
Building trust and confidence
Training officers on how best to handle alleged victims when sexual assault reports come in is on Foster’s list of areas to improve, he says, to continue to build “trust and confidence” in the force.
This is one of countless KPIs being tracked by Foster in his weekly meetings with Craig Guildford, Chief Constable of the UK’s second largest police force based on population served (2.9m) and leader of some 8,000 officers.
Foster’s role as Police and Crime Commissioner is to hold Guildford to account, on behalf of the people who elected him, for the delivery of the budgeted strategy he sets, the most recent one published in May this year.
Part of the declaration of office on appointment to the commissioner role is “you will not interfere with day-to-day policing – that’s the exclusive purview of the Chief Constable,” says Foster.
Visible community policing is the bedrock of Foster’s strategy
“Rebuilding community policing” is a core plank of Foster’s strategy, and is no doubt linked to the force’s improving numbers. He points to increased Labour (Note: Foster is a Labour man) government funding delivering 150 more local officers, 139 existing officers deployed locally and the hiring of 20 additional PCSOs in the West Midlands – building back from a 25% depletion of police officer numbers for a decade under the Tories.
By September this year Foster aims to have “at least one DNO (dedicated neighbourhood officer) – named and contactable” in each of the West Midlands region’s 174 neighbourhood policing team areas covering Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, and Wolverhampton.
“In 2010, we had about 1,800 local police officers; in 2020, we had just 700,” says Foster, who also cites a 30% decrease in Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) funding during that time.
Visible community-based officers are the bedrock on which the whole justice system works effectively, says Foster, whose remit as commissioner also includes chairing the West Midlands Criminal Justice Board, which monitors how the court system works alongside policing.
‘Someone voted for me – so I’ll always give 100%’
“For as long as I am in this role, I will give my absolute best,” says Foster, who is regularly spotted behind his desk at Lloyd House, the WMP headquarters, next door to Snow Hill station, before 7am and after 9pm.
“I have a deep sense of duty because, on polling day, someone took the time to go to the polling station and put an X next to my name.”
