Crime in Handsworth Wood

By Roshan Doug on Jan 11, 12 08:24 PM in

Handsworth Wood: this morning my area - my very neighbourhood - was shaken once again by the sound of violence. Last summer it was the riots in the city centre, the looting and mindless vandalism. And previously, I swear, I've lost count of how many times shooting and drug-related offences have been in the news.

Essentially this seemingly suburban neighbourhood is more than residential serenity it once used to be.

Now - despite the detached and semi detached houses - it seems quite a dangerous place.

This morning, for instance, a middle aged couple was assaulted and murdered in their own homes, within the confines of their own sense of security. They lived only around the corner from where I live, where I have often gone for walks late in the evening.

At roughly 8 O'clock Avtar Singh-Kolar, 62, and his wife Carole, 58, were found dead at an address in Friary Road. Police believe the couple, who had four children and eight grandchildren, were subjected to an assault. Of course it's far too early to speculate what might have caused such a monstrous, heinous act.

But I can't help thinking why? Why here in Handsworth Wood? What's going on in this leafy affluent place that has made it so dangerous?

My son, a 22 year-old, street savvy youngster, has always stated we're living in the heartland of crime and violence. Apparently the police and young people in and around the area know all about it. I wasn't too sure of this when I moved into this neighbourhood in 2006 - thinking he was exaggerating. But there's no escaping the fact that recently gang warfare is going on and is notorious on the number 11 bus route - a route that touches on the area. Youngsters know about it - even the police.

You might remember, Letisha Shakespeare and Charlene Ellis, the young innocent bystanders who had become victims of a shooting between two youths of gangs. They were shot dead on 2nd January 2003 whilst out celebrating the New Year. Well, that area - Aston - is only a stone's throw from a number 11 bus stop in Perry Barr and one that has seen increasing amount of social violence particularly in the area of this bus route.

And readers of this paper will be familiar of my own account of a burglary a couple of years ago which took place in broad day light whilst I was at work. It certainly made me feel vulnerable and insecure - and got me thinking that perhaps I ought to leave and go somewhere less intrusive.

But am I over dramatizing what might be a social phenomenon, something which is common in most of our large inner city areas? Maybe Handsworth Wood isn't immune to violence and crime any more than Lozells or Toxteth or Brixton. And to think otherwise might be elitist and snobbish. And perhaps your own sense of safety is - irrespective of where you live - based on rather flimsy ideas of security. Just because properties in your area might be worth - or at least, one time prior to the recession - 400k, it does not follow that you are totally secure and well-protected.

The thing is that violence and crime do not have limits. One should bear that in mind whilst you watch the story of this recent incident of assault of a middle aged couple unfolding in the next few days - and perhaps, weeks.

Comments (9)

Older/Newer

« HS2: Severe delays expected, we apologise for any inconvenience | Ed Balls (almost) backs Sion Simon for Mayor of Birmingham »

9 Comments

Handsworth Wood resident. said:

"But am I over dramatizing?"

Yes, to an extent. But I do respect your idea that crime is not boundless, and crime from other areas is having a negative impact upon our own. Take the riots for example, the majority arrested in Handsworth that night did not have a B20/B21 postcode as their home address. We need to stop this mindless violence and gang culture spilling into a peaceful suburb.

January 12, 2012 11:06 AM

Mitch001 said:

I lived in Handsworth Wood for the best part of 25 years and moved away a number of years go, but I still have friends within the area, so I can see how the area has evolved within the past 15 years. It is true, there have been countless cases of minor crimes within this area, as has been the case for many years. I remember back in the early 1980's when burglary was all too common. And knife crime was not totally unheard of either. I remember several boys of a similar age group were stabbed to death during my teens, drugs were available, and misuse of alcohol amongst teenagers was a big social problem as it is today.
Gangs were around during this period also. However, unlike now, were not so well organised, and have access to firearms. Organised punch-up's between local Handsworth Wood schools occurred from time to time. Most of the ringleaders would be known to the local beat policemen.
My point is that whilst this was a shocking crime, Handsworth Wood has been in a similar situation for the past 30 years or so. This is still a very rare type of crime, which can occur in any community anywhere in Britain.

January 12, 2012 11:50 AM

gursh chana said:

yes Roshan you are over dramatising this and personally this opinion is nothing new.
You band Handsworth Wood like some no go area and do not really have a point with this article to be honest. I love your poetry but HW is no more a victim to this type of crime as Sutton Coldfield , Halesowen, or Solihull is.

January 12, 2012 6:31 PM

Ian Halstead said:

It is indeed the usual blend of a small no of facts, swamped by fiction and hyperbole.
Given that the no 11 route runs through 25+ miles of inner-B'ham, it must pass by several hundred thousand homes, so its relevance here isn't clear.
Linking the tragic deaths of the two girls in a drive-by shooting to this route is simply bizarre. The incident happened at 4am, and followed a gangland murder in West Brom. A rival gang member simply happened to be at the same party as the victims.
As to Handsworth Wood being 'the heartland of crime and violence', my uncle lived and taught there for 30 years, and 'suffered' one broken window.
I lived there for two years, drank in the Grove pub, walked through the area day and night for month after month, and can't recall one noteworthy incident of crime.
Do our shared experiences prove that the area is crime-free? Of course not - nowhere is. Equally though, the idea that the death of the Singh-Kolars makes Handsworth Wood a 'dangerous place' is simply barking. However, I can not understand where the writer got the idea that the area is affluent. It may have a pleasant sprinkling of trees breaking through the cracks in the pavement, but it's just a bog-standard inner-city suburb.

January 13, 2012 3:49 PM

Laurence said:

Handsworth Wood certainly does not generate the crime; Handsworth and Aston on the other hand are another matter.

Undoubtedly, the area has experienced that interesting phenomenon, "White Flight", over the last 30 years. However, I do not think this has had any impact on the area's attractiveness as a place to live; indeed the prosperous whites have merely been replaced by prosperous Indian families.

I think the recent murder is an isolated incident and could have happened anywhere. The increased burglary rate in Handsworth Wood is rather symptomatic of its proximity to a deprived area, which has unfortunately been exacerbated by the recession.

January 16, 2012 5:17 PM

Nina said:

I've only lived in Handsworth Wood for about 3 years. I am very much aware that there are stabbings and shootings on a (what seems like), monthly basis. The other day, I pointed this out to my husband and he says there is a huge difference between Handsworth (where most stabbinds occur)and Handsworth Wood. However, I can not see the difference. Handsworth is only a mile down the road and the only differnce I see is in house prices.. but even then, only a marginal difference.

As for HW being an affluent area... well, apart from those big houses on Handsworth Wood Road, HW is a hellish Suburban nightmare. It has row upon row upon row of identical semi's with garage conversations on every other house. Its boring, dull, overpriced, and every house on every road looks the same. If I think about it, when I was young, it has to be the last sort of place I ever wanted to end up living.

Oh, and nearly every teenager around here owns one of those stupid Japanese Akita's, or Alsations most of which they can't conrol. I've never seen anybody pick up dog poo resulting in the roads of Handsworth Wood being littered with Dog mess. My advice to anybody moving here? Watch your step.

January 18, 2012 12:07 PM

old timer said:

i worked in the area 30 yrs ago and not the level of crime we see now , but it can happen anwhere these days i now live in torquay and we have our share of crime here year ago couple were murderded in there villa over looking torbay who did itand why a east european they had befrended tried to get money from them it , so much for open borders

January 20, 2012 8:53 PM

Assad Latif said:

You have spouted some utter rubbish over the years and this cringe worthy 'article' pales somewhere in the middle, which just goes to show your level of writing and academia, honest to God I don't know how people take you seriously or how expect people to take you seriously. The only time crime and Handsworth Wood should be written in the same sentence is when the word 'low' is thrown in somewhere, you have made yourself sound like a privileged middle class fool and yet again exposed yourself as, at best, a very weak writer, just admit that you are in way over your head and get a job where you have skills to match, if you have any skills that is, of course.

January 24, 2012 10:55 PM

Laurence Holmes said:

Assad lives in one of those big houses on Hamstead Hill. You've just offended him!

February 1, 2012 6:12 PM