West Midlands Police officers are continuing to carry out Project Servator deployments in Solihull as part of ongoing efforts to keep residents, visitors and shoppers safe.
Specialist uniformed and plain-clothes officers have been appearing at unannounced locations across the town, trained to spot signs of hostile reconnaissance – information gathering that could indicate someone is planning or preparing to commit a crime.
The force’s mounted unit joined officers on a recent deployment, with mounted officers speaking to members of the public and reminding them to remain vigilant while out in the town over the summer.
Deployments can also involve a range of other specialist resources, including police dogs, drones, CCTV and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology. Solihull Police said patrols are deliberately unpredictable in terms of timing, duration and the number of officers involved, so members of the public should not be alarmed if they see a larger police presence than expected.
What is Project Servator?
Project Servator is a national policing tactic aimed at disrupting a range of criminal activity, including terrorism, while providing a reassuring presence for the public. Officers involved are specially trained to identify behaviour that may suggest someone is planning or preparing an offence.
The initiative operates under the strapline “Together, we’ve got it covered,” with police working alongside partner organisations, including other police forces, businesses and the public, to help protect the area and make it more difficult for criminals to operate.
During deployments, officers may talk to the public, local businesses and private security staff to explain what they are doing and to encourage vigilance. Posters and leaflets about the scheme may also be on display. Police have stressed that seeing officers taking part in a Project Servator patrol is not linked to any specific intelligence about a threat to the area, and is a normal part of policing.
How the public can help
Police are urging residents and visitors to report anything that does not feel right, such as an unattended item or suspicious behaviour, to an officer or security guard straightaway.
Members of the public can report concerns to a police officer directly, via the online West Midlands Police tool for reporting possible terrorist activity, or by calling the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321. In an emergency, people should always call 999.
Further guidance on what to look out for and how to report concerns is available through the national Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) campaign at https://act.campaign.gov.uk/.
