Central Motorway Police Group
Encyclopedia
The Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) is a co-operative operation between three police forces in the West Midlands
of England
. Officers from the three forces involved - Staffordshire Police
, West Mercia Police and West Midlands Police
- provide a dedicated policing service on several hundred miles of the motorway network in the West Midlands, from the boundary with Cheshire
in the north to Gloucestershire
and Warwickshire
in the south, and from Wales
in the west to Derbyshire
and Warwickshire in the east.
The radio control room and central vehicle depot is located adjacent to the M6 at Perry Barr in Birmingham
where Thornbridge Avenue passes under the motorway. The depot has direct access onto both the northbound and southbound carriageways of the motorway allowing police vehicles to respond faster to incidents.
In June 2008 Merseyside Police
, Lancashire Constabulary
and Cheshire Constabulary
established the North West Motorway Police Group
covering the motorways in their respective areas following the success of the CMPG.
, the West Midlands and North Worcestershire
. Staffordshire Police and Warwickshire Police joined the partnership in 2001, bringing the motorway sections in those counties within the Group's area of responsibility, while West Mercia increased its input.
Warwickshire withdrew from the CMPG in April 2007.
Roads formerly policed by the CMPG but now policed only by Warwickshire include:
CMPG Patrol Bases:
Former CMPG Patrol Bases:
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Officers from the three forces involved - Staffordshire Police
Staffordshire Police
Staffordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands of England...
, West Mercia Police and West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...
- provide a dedicated policing service on several hundred miles of the motorway network in the West Midlands, from the boundary with Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
in the north to Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
and Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
in the south, and from Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
in the west to Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
and Warwickshire in the east.
The radio control room and central vehicle depot is located adjacent to the M6 at Perry Barr in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
where Thornbridge Avenue passes under the motorway. The depot has direct access onto both the northbound and southbound carriageways of the motorway allowing police vehicles to respond faster to incidents.
In June 2008 Merseyside Police
Merseyside Police
Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The force area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million...
, Lancashire Constabulary
Lancashire Constabulary
Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Lancashire in the North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, near the city of Preston...
and Cheshire Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton and Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an area of with a population of roughly 1 million.The Chief Constable of the...
established the North West Motorway Police Group
North West Motorway Police Group
The North West Motorway Police Group provides a regionalised policing service for the Motorways within the Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester police areas...
covering the motorways in their respective areas following the success of the CMPG.
History
The CMPG was first formed in 1990, when West Mercia Constabulary, now known as West Mercia Police and West Midlands Police formed a partnership to police approximately 100 miles (160.9 km) of motorway in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, the West Midlands and North Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
. Staffordshire Police and Warwickshire Police joined the partnership in 2001, bringing the motorway sections in those counties within the Group's area of responsibility, while West Mercia increased its input.
Warwickshire withdrew from the CMPG in April 2007.
Responsibilities
Currently, the CMPG has responsibility for:- M6M6 motorwayThe M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
from Junction 4 to Junction 16 - M5M5 motorwayThe M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
from its start to the Gloucestershire border (between Junctions 8 and 9) - The M42M42 motorwayThe M42 motorway is a major road in England. The motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre and Tamworth on the way. The section between the M40 and M6 road forms...
from its start to Junction 3, and Junctions 5 to 7 - A45 from Birmingham to Coventry
- A46 from the Gloucestershire border to EveshamEveshamEvesham is a market town and a civil parish in the Local Authority District of Wychavon in the county of Worcestershire, England with a population of 22,000. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon...
- The entire M54M54 motorwayThe M54 is a 23 mile east-west motorway in the English counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It is also referred to as the Telford Motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the new town of Telford...
- A5 in Staffordshire and Shropshire
- M50M50 motorway (Great Britain)The M50 is a motorway in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, England. It is long and is sometimes referred to as the Ross Spur. It is the only motorway-class road in Herefordshire.-Route:...
in Herefordshire
Roads formerly policed by the CMPG but now policed only by Warwickshire include:
- M40M40 motorwayThe M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...
from Junction 12 to Junction 3A of the M42 - M69M69 motorwayThe M69 is a lightly used dual three lane dual carriageway motorway in Leicestershire and Warwickshire, England connecting Leicester and Coventry. It opened in 1977.-History:...
from Junction 2 of the M6 to the Leicestershire border - M6M6 motorwayThe M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
from Junction 1 to Junction 4 - M42M42 motorwayThe M42 motorway is a major road in England. The motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre and Tamworth on the way. The section between the M40 and M6 road forms...
from Junction 3 to Junction 5
- A45 from Coventry to the Northamptonshire border (The A45 was never actually covered by CMPG and was always policed by Warwickshire)
- A46 from Evesham to Coventry (Only from junction 15 M40 to Coventry was policed by CMPG)
CMPG Patrol Bases:
- Hilton ParkHilton ParkHilton Park has a number of different meanings:* Hilton Park services, a Motorway Service Area on the M6 Motorway north of Wolverhampton, England...
Police Post, Staffordshire - DoxeyDoxeyDoxey is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stafford in Staffordshire, England. It is a north-western suburb of Stafford. The village became a civil parish on April 1, 2005....
Police Post, M6 near StaffordStaffordStafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14... - WellingtonWellington, ShropshireWellington is a town in the unitary authority of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England and now forms part of the new town of Telford. The population of the parish of Wellington was recorded as 20,430 in the 2001 census, making it the third largest town in Shropshire if...
Police Station, Junction 7 of the M54 in Shropshire - Perry Barr, CMPG headquarters in BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
- Hindlip HallHindlip HallHindlip Hall is in Worcestershire. The first major hall was built before 1575. It played a significant role in both the Babington and the Gunpowder plots . It was Humphrey Littleton who told the authorities that Edward Oldcorne was hiding here after he had been heard saying Mass at Hindlip Hall...
(West Mercia Police headquarters), Junction 6 of the M5 in Worcestershire - Halesowen Police Station, Dudley, West Midlands.
Former CMPG Patrol Bases:
- ColeshillColeshill, WarwickshireColeshill is a market town in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England, taking its name from the River Cole. It has a population of 6,343 and is situated east of Birmingham.-Location:...
Police Station, Junction 4 of the M6 in Warwickshire - Greys Mallory Traffic Base, Junction 14 of the M40 in Warwickshire