'Ten most wanted' published on website by West Midlands police

Police in the West Midlands posted photographs yesterday of their "10 most wanted" suspects on the internet in a campaign against the growing problem of street crime.

Police in the West Midlands posted photographs yesterday of their "10 most wanted" suspects on the internet in a campaign against the growing problem of street crime.

In what is believed to be the first initiative of its kind, the West Midlands force published the pictures and details of the men on its regular website www.west-midlands.police.uk. They include suspected bank robbers and alleged criminals thought to have been involved in assaults and gun crime. One is an armed robber who escaped from custody earlier this year.

Chief Constable Edward Crew, who will also launch a publicity campaign today to raise awareness of the problem of street crime in Birmingham and the Black Country, said the project was a sign of the increasingly serious nature of the issue. "We are making the names and pictures of these 10 people available to the public to show how serious we are about tackling street crime," he said. "This is not a flash in the pan. Our Safer Streets campaign is being expanded force-wide and without time limit."

Among those pictured on the website is a convicted armed robber, Vincent Michael Palmer, 34, who escaped from custody during a trial at Birmingham Crown Court in March for conspiracy to rob a postoffice.

Another is William Patrick Dixon, 32, who is wanted inrelation to a raid on a housing office where £4,000 in cash was snatched at gunpoint.

A third is Cedric "Skipper" Anthony Brown - a 33-year-old alleged to have committed a car-jacking in Birmingham in June. Mr Brown is said to have forced a man from his car after threatening him with a sawn-offshotgun.

The site - which appeals for information but warns members of the public should notapproach these men - shows mug shots of the suspects and details of their aliases. It also features information on the places they are thought to frequent.