Monthly News Letter – Dorridge & Hockley Heath

Monday 9th February 2026 

Good Evening from the Solihull Rural’s Neighbourhood Policing Team,

 Our team are hard at work preventing crime and keeping our communities safe. If you have any local information to support us with this, please email the Rural’s Neighbourhood Policing Team inbox on rural@westmidlands.police.uk . 

Please be aware that this inbox is NOT monitored 24 hours a day and is purely for non-emergencies. In an emergency please call 999. To report a crime in a non-emergency situation please call 101 or visit Report a crime | West Midlands Police to do this online. 

The Rural’s Team will also keep you updated on their activity using X (previously known as Twitter). Please follow our team on X using the following username: @RuralsWMP

Local crime

Below is a snapshot of the vehicle crime and burglaries that have been recorded in the Dorridge & Hockley Heath area between the 1st January and 9th February 2026.   

Burglaries:

·  Residential Burglary of Unconnected building – Four Ashes Road, Dorridge – victim has woken in the morning to see garden shed door was insecure and had been unscrewed from the hinges. Items had been taken from within and surrounding plant pots broken. This includes, Golf clubs, strimmer, jet wash, and telescopic ladder stolen. 

·  Residential Burglary of a home – Avenue Close – unknown offenders have drilled the lock on the rear door of the property, entered, stolen car keys of the kitchen worktop and subsequently stolen vehicle BMW 2 SERIES and made off in unknown direction

·  Residential burglary of a home – Meadow Close, Hockley Heath –  officers have attended address to reports of an elderly female who has Alzheimer’s discovered her house had been broken into. Officers arrived and was greeted by the victims daughter who stated the cleaner had discovered the back door glass panel had been put through and the victims bedroom had been trashed.

·  Attempted Residential Burglary of a home – Westerham Close, Dorridge – Suspicious males seen crouching down by a lamppost, was disturbed by someone opening bedroom window, upon officers arrival they found a porch door had been tampered with, unsure if anything was taken, CCTV showed males in balaclavas. 

Vehicle crime:

·  Theft from motor vehicle – Winster Avenue, Dorridge – person(s) unknown gained access to locked, parked vehicle and removed both front and rear number plates. Unknown suspect made good their escape.

·  Theft from motor vehicle – Widney Road, Bentley Heath – person(s) unknown gained access to locked, parked and unattended motor vehicle by (cutting into back of the van around the lock in order to reach in and flick the lock open ) with implement (if known, ie., brick, stone etc) and stole property.

·  Theft from motor vehicle – Sainsburys, Dorridge – Person(s) unknown have approached a unlocked, parked and unattended motor vehicle and stole the victims wallet, containing Driving Licence, Natwest credit cards, Tesco credit card, 1x HSBC Debit card and 2 x Lloyds cards, that they had left on the back seat whilst they were returning a shopping trolley at the offence location. Offender(s) then subsequently withdrew/spent a total of £3900 from/on the IPs cards.

·  Theft from motor vehicle – Stratford Road, Hockley Heath – The unknown offender has approached the victim’s white Ford Focus and has unscrewed the front number plate and has made off.

Crime prevention advice

–  Please consider purchasing a steering wheel lock for your vehicle. This will decrease the chances of your vehicle being targeted by offenders. Also remember to double check that your vehicle is locked, before leaving it unattended. Installing an immobiliser and covert tracking device will also increase the chance of getting your vehicle back should it be stolen.

–  Please don’t leave valuable items on show inside your vehicle. Even loose change can be appealing to vehicle offenders.

– Consider installing anti-snap locks to all external windows and doors on your home. This will make it more difficult for potential burglars to gain access to your home. Installing a monitored burglar alarm is also a great deterrent. Try to make the front and rear of your property as well-lit as possible by installing motion activated lighting.

– CCTV is a great deterrent for offenders. This can also be crucial in linking criminals to multiple crimes.

– Consider purchasing anti-tamper number plate screws to secure your vehicle registration to your vehicle. Bare in mind that if you have a personalised plate, anti-tamper screws will make it very difficult to remove the plate if needed.

Local news

–  A speed watch took place in Hockley Heath on School road and 37 Vehicles were caught exceeding the speed limit in the hour. One vehicle was caught doing 46mph in the 20 zone! 

CCTV REGISTRY

We need more people to register their home or business CCTV and doorbell cameras to help solve crime by providing footage when alerted.

Register your CCTV or doorbell cameras at: CCTV Registry | West Midlands Police

 How it works in three steps:

1. Register your cameras securely in 60 seconds

2. You will receive a text or email when a crime happens near your home or business and our officers believe your CCTV may have recorded the incident

3. Upload the images via the secure link contained in the message

Dates for your diary 

·  Thursday 5th March 2026 – 11:00 – 12:30 – Beat Surgery at The King George Memorial Hall, Hockley Heath. This is an opportunity for local residents to pop along and chat with your local PCSO’s/ Police Officers about the crime that is happening in the area. Its also an opportunity for you to discuss any worries/ concerns you have about the village. 

·  SOLIHULL RURAL’S PACT (PARTNERS AND COMMUNITYS TOGETHER) MEETING – Dorridge Village Hall 6.30pm – EVERYONE INVITED TO COME ALONG…..PLEASE ATTEND!!!!!