West Mercia Police make changes to local policing
West Mercia Police is improving the services it provides to communities by making changes to its local policing service.
The force says the changes will ensure that officers are more visible on our streets, and that the public receive the highest level of service.
The changes went live yesterday and follow extensive research into crime statistics and how officers respond to incidents. The new policing model aims to provide a more visible and responsive service, with more officers on duty during times of greatest need.
West Mercia Police is also improving road safety for communities, following its decision to withdraw from the Central Motorway Policing Group. On 8 April, 25 officers who were part of the Central Motorway Policing Group will become part of the West Mercia Police roads policing service. The enhanced team will work to improve roads policing, prevent offending and keep the public safe across the region's large and complex roads network.
Specially trained officers will be providing reassurance to those involved in incidents on motorways and other major roads, in cars that are fully kitted and equipped with technology to catch offenders, and the resources to manage traffic and keep the public safe. The roads policing team will work closely with agencies such as Highways England and fire and rescue services in areas such as training and incident management.
West Mercia Police's Assistant Chief Constable, Martin Evans, said:
"These changes to local policing mean that we will not only maintain, but should in fact increase the visibility of police officers within our communities. We have made significant investments in technology which will help to keep officers visible in their communities, enabling them to perform far more administration tasks away from the station.
"The changes to our roads policing service means that officers who have been providing a regional motorways policing service will now be able to concentrate on policing the strategic roads network across Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford. The returning officers will join existing roads policing teams and will offer a more robust service to everyone using our roads and increase road safety across our region.
"We are committed to protecting our current numbers of Police Constables and Police Community Support Officers in our Safer Neighbourhood Teams and will continue to work with partners and our communities to solve local problems, tackle issues of concern and protect people from harm."
Police and Crime Commissioner, John Campion said:
"Our communities deserve the right response from the police at the time when they need it most, so the matching of resources to demand is crucial.
"I made a commitment to protecting frontline police officers and PCSOs, and the new model delivers this. I also promised to equip our officers with the tools to keep people safe, and by equipping them with technology and specialist training, I am delivering on this promise.
"Our communities deserve a modern, agile and sustainable police force that delivers for their needs. I am confident that these changes, coupled with new technologies and the significant improvements we have already made will build communities where people are safer, and feel safer."
