After their suspicious colleagues launched an investigation, four members of the police department in West Midlands were suspended under claims that they mishandled the property of street beggars.

Several people who operated in the Bordesley Green area of Birmingham and were arrested on begging related charges claim to be robbed by the police officers who arrested them.

Sometime around August, a big operation was launched to clear the city center of illegal sellers and beggars that were becoming so aggressive that the West Midlands police received several complaints.

The majority of these people are Eastern European, earning their living by offering car washing services that are illegal and considered as begging, or simply begging for money from passers-by. During the operation, 17 people were arrested and charged, but the way they were handled arose suspicion among some of the police officers.

People were complaining that their possessions along with the money they earned on the street were taken from them never to be returned, which led to investigating the way these people were treated.

Deputy Chief Constable Dave Thompson suspended four of his men and handled the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission for further investigation. If the complaints turn out to be true, the cops will be facing theft charges and this will probably end their careers in the police.