Cardboard cops to crack crime

Residents will be seeing double in the fight against crime

Cardboard cops are the latest weapon in the fight against crime in the Black Country.

Two Old Hill police officers acted as models to provide the West Midlands force with a batch of cardboard "cut out" police officers.

Police believe the scheme will provide local community reassurance and improve police visibility after local sector officers - PC Karen Southey and PC Richard Demers - were created in cardboard.

The idea has been supported and financed through partnership work alongside the Rowley Regis town team.

'Cynics may question'

The figures will be placed in crime hotspots around Rowley Regis, concentrating on the areas of Springfield, Brickhouse and Rowley.

Inspector Denise Clarke said: "This is an innovative approach at Old Hill but is only one tactic in a series of current activity under way, focussed on combating crime in the area.

"While cynics may question the usefulness of cardboard cut outs, there is undoubtedly a psychological perception of a visible police presence.

"If the conscience of just one person is pricked and a crime is prevented or if just one potential offender sees a figure and is deterred from entering a premises for the purposes of committing a crime, this campaign is well worth the effort."