Driving Force
Find out about the Central Motorway Police Group
Driving Force
A dedicated group of West Mercia officers, together with colleagues from the West Midlands and Staffordshire Police, form the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) which is responsible for policing the motorway network and some of the major roads that run through the force areas.
“We have four key objectives,” explained Inspector Simon Westwood who's based at CMPG's Perry Barr headquarters. “we aim to deny criminals the use of the roads; reduce casualties; tackle anti-social use of vehicles and improve public confidence and reassurance.”
So while CMPG officers will still pull you over for speeding or using your mobile phone while driving, these days there's a lot more they get involved in too.
For example, much of their work is intelligence led and they frequently use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology in their drive to stop criminals moving around so easily. In the last 12 months it's helped CMPG officers to make in excess of 3,000 arrests and seize 1,500 unlicensed or uninsured vehicles.
in recent years, some aspects of general traffic and road management such as dealing with broken down vehicles or clearing debris from carriageways, have passed from the police to the Highways Agency Traffic Officer Service. “This means we're free to concentrate on tackling crime and enforcing the law,” said Constable Richard Janes, a West Mercia CMPG officer since 2001.
“There's no such thing as a typical day. We could be attending the scene of a serious collision or apprehending a drug dealer with thousands of pounds worth of heroin in their vehicle. It's a great job - very varied and interesting and you feel like you're making a real difference.”
There are approximately 95 CMPG officers in total of which 22 are West Mercia employees. They can be asked to go anywhere in the CMPG area and typically cover about 250 miles during a 12 hour shift. The officers work from a satellite base at the West Mercia HQ at Hindlip.
To find out more, visit the CMPG website:
www.west-midlands.police.uk/cmpg
©The West Mercian-published with permission
Related links