West Mercia Police to patrol M54 on its own

West Mercia Police has pulled out of the Central Motorway Policing Group after 27 years and will now patrol the motorway alone.

Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, who made the decision, said it was to improve the way it policed the motorway.

Previously it has teamed up with Staffordshire and West Midlands Police to patrol the stretch of road which runs from Wellington to the M6.

Mr Bangham said: “I have made the significant decision for West Mercia Police to withdraw from the Central Motorway Policing Group as I believe it to be the best way forward for how we police our motorways and roads across our force area in the coming years.

“We will ensure more locally-based and more community focused arrangements to how we police our road network.

“Our primary focus will be to continue to improve our policing services for road users, increase road safety within our counties and tackle travelling criminality.”

“This is a decision I have taken carefully, considering what is best for road safety and our local communities.”

Top officers have said it will mean that Shropshire’s roads are more “effectively” policed.

It has not yet been revelaed what changes will be made to how the road is policed, or if there will be more resources set aside for the motorway.

Chief Superintendent Stephen Cullen said: “Reducing harm on our roads remains a high priority for West Mercia Police.

“The decision to realign resources from CMPG seeks to strengthen our capability and ensure we can effectively police the motorways and other roads across Shropshire.”

West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion added: “I continue to invest in roads policing and am confident that the Chief Constable’s decision is in the best interest of keeping our communities safe.”

The focus of the CMPG is to make the region’s roads safer.

The group provides dedicated patrols 24 hours a day, alongside partner agencies including Highways, Amey and VOSA.

The area covered by the group is from the Welsh border to the northern border with Cheshire, which covers about 400 miles of motorway, including eight motorway service areas.

CMPG also includes the Regional Collision Investigation Unit which is responsible for investigating all fatal and life changing collisions within the West Midlands and Staffordshire Police areas.

The group assists local teams across the force areas in tackling issues such as road safety - through education and enforcement and reducing crime and disorder - through intelligence led policing. It also also takes a national lead in tackling organised crime and crime within the travelling community.

The CMPG was formed in 1990 when West Midlands Police and West Mercia Constabulary formed a partnership to provide a dedicated policing team for the M6, M5 and M42 motorways surrounding the West Midlands and North Worcestershire.

The group expanded in 2001 when Staffordshire Police joined the partnership, then again later in the year when Warwickshire Police entered the group and West Mercia Constabulary increased its input into the partnership.

The in 2007, Warwickshire Police left the group, and now West Mercia Police has announced it will be leaving. The two forces have been in their own “strategic alliance” about four years ago, where officers below the rank of assistant chief constable can be deployed to work across both force areas.