West Midlands Police
Encyclopedia
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 of 8,461 police officers, supported by 4,082 police staff, 769 special constables and 808 police community support officers. With 14,120 employees, this makes it the second-largest force in the country behind the Metropolitan Police
.
West Midlands is a partner, alongside Staffordshire Police
and West Mercia Police, in the Central Motorway Police Group
.
which created the new West Midlands metropolitan county. It was formed by merging the Birmingham City Police
, the earlier West Midlands Constabulary
, and parts of Staffordshire County and Stoke-on-Trent Constabulary, Warwickshire and Coventry Constabulary and West Mercia Constabulary
.
Under proposals announced by the then Home Secretary
, Charles Clarke
, on 6 February 2006, West Midlands Police would have merged with Staffordshire Police
, West Mercia Constabulary
and Warwickshire Constabulary to form a single strategic force for the West Midlands
region.
This, along with a number of other mergers which would have cut the number of forces in England and Wales from 43 to 24, were abandoned in July 2006 after widespread opposition from police and the public.
Because of the prisons' overcrowding crisis in Birmingham
in October 2006 three dozen police cells are to be made available to house inmates in Birmingham to help ease congestion. (By contrast, one contemporary account reported, in 1833, that for days the city gaol had been entirely empty.) Despite a dip in the number of prisoners that month, prisons in the region are close to capacity or already full. Between 32 and 44 cells were set aside at Steelhouse Lane police station, in Birmingham City Centre, in case of emergency. West Midlands Police has an established agreement with HM Prison Service to provide cells in the event they are needed.
In October 2008, the Chief Constable Sir Paul Scott-Lee announced he would not be renewing his contract in May 2009, after seven years in the post. His replacement is Chris Sims.
On taking office, the new Chief Constable announced that the force would be realigned to exist alongside council boundaries, abolishing the operational command units (OCUs) and reforming as Local Policing Units (LPUs). In April 2010, the force reorganised from 21 OCUs into ten new LPUs.
There were also changes to the HQ departments, including the new Local Policing Department, the new Public Protection Department and Central CID (formerly Crime Support).
The aim is to move certain functions from local areas into the central departments - such as dealing with complex or serious crimes, along with finance, IT and administration tasks, so that the local policing units can concentrate on local policing issues.
These changes are also hoped to save around £50m, in order to cope with future pressures in funding.
There is also the long-term aim of reducing the number of Contact Management Centres from 10 (1 each for each LPU) to 1, covering the whole of the force.
Each LPU has a number of dedicated Neighbourhood Policing teams. These cover a specific area and are headed by a sergeant with support from a number of police officers, PCSOs and sometimes specials. The neighbourhood teams organise regular meetings, so they can understand the issues that are important to the local community.
The neighbourhood sergeants report to a sector inspector.
The ten LPUs are:
lists and commemorates all British police officers killed in the line of duty, and since its establishment in 1984 has erected over 38 memorials to some of those officers.
The following officers of West Midlands Police are listed by the Trust as having died attempting to prevent, stop or solve a crime, since the turn of the 20th century:
Territorial police force
The phrase Territorial Police Force varies in precise meaning according to the country to which it is related, generally distinguishing a force whose area of responsibility is defined by sub-national boundaries from others which deal with the entire country or a restricted range of...
responsible for policing the metropolitan county
Metropolitan county
The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million...
of West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
in 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...
.
Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of 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...
, Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
and also the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
; the force is made up of 8,461 police officers, supported by 4,082 police staff, 769 special constables and 808 police community support officers. With 14,120 employees, this makes it the second-largest force in the country behind the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
.
West Midlands is a partner, alongside 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...
and West Mercia Police, in the Central Motorway Police Group
Central Motorway Police Group
The Central Motorway Police Group 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...
.
History
The force was created on 1 April 1974, because of the Local Government Act 1972Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
which created the new West Midlands metropolitan county. It was formed by merging the Birmingham City Police
Birmingham City Police
Birmingham City Police was a police force responsible for policing the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands of England until 1974, when it was amalgamated under the Local Government Act 1972 with West Midlands Constabulary and parts of other forces to form the West Midlands Police. The police...
, the earlier West Midlands Constabulary
West Midlands Constabulary
The West Midlands Constabulary was a police force in the West Midlands of England.It was created on April 1, 1966 under the Police Act 1964, with the re-organisation of the Black Country area as the five contiguous county boroughs of Dudley, Walsall, Warley, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton...
, and parts of Staffordshire County and Stoke-on-Trent Constabulary, Warwickshire and Coventry Constabulary and West Mercia Constabulary
West Mercia Constabulary
West Mercia Police, formerly known as West Mercia Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Shropshire , Herefordshire and Worcestershire in England. The force area covers making it the fourth largest police area in England and Wales...
.
Under proposals announced by the then Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, Charles Clarke
Charles Clarke
Charles Rodway Clarke is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, and served as Home Secretary from December 2004 until May 2006.-Early life:...
, on 6 February 2006, West Midlands Police would have merged with 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 Constabulary
West Mercia Constabulary
West Mercia Police, formerly known as West Mercia Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Shropshire , Herefordshire and Worcestershire in England. The force area covers making it the fourth largest police area in England and Wales...
and Warwickshire Constabulary to form a single strategic force for the West Midlands
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,...
region.
This, along with a number of other mergers which would have cut the number of forces in England and Wales from 43 to 24, were abandoned in July 2006 after widespread opposition from police and the public.
Because of the prisons' overcrowding crisis 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...
in October 2006 three dozen police cells are to be made available to house inmates in Birmingham to help ease congestion. (By contrast, one contemporary account reported, in 1833, that for days the city gaol had been entirely empty.) Despite a dip in the number of prisoners that month, prisons in the region are close to capacity or already full. Between 32 and 44 cells were set aside at Steelhouse Lane police station, in Birmingham City Centre, in case of emergency. West Midlands Police has an established agreement with HM Prison Service to provide cells in the event they are needed.
In October 2008, the Chief Constable Sir Paul Scott-Lee announced he would not be renewing his contract in May 2009, after seven years in the post. His replacement is Chris Sims.
On taking office, the new Chief Constable announced that the force would be realigned to exist alongside council boundaries, abolishing the operational command units (OCUs) and reforming as Local Policing Units (LPUs). In April 2010, the force reorganised from 21 OCUs into ten new LPUs.
There were also changes to the HQ departments, including the new Local Policing Department, the new Public Protection Department and Central CID (formerly Crime Support).
The aim is to move certain functions from local areas into the central departments - such as dealing with complex or serious crimes, along with finance, IT and administration tasks, so that the local policing units can concentrate on local policing issues.
These changes are also hoped to save around £50m, in order to cope with future pressures in funding.
There is also the long-term aim of reducing the number of Contact Management Centres from 10 (1 each for each LPU) to 1, covering the whole of the force.
Divisions and departments
West Midlands Police is split into ten local policing units (LPUs). Each LPU is headed by a chief superintendent who is responsible for the overall policing and management of the area.Each LPU has a number of dedicated Neighbourhood Policing teams. These cover a specific area and are headed by a sergeant with support from a number of police officers, PCSOs and sometimes specials. The neighbourhood teams organise regular meetings, so they can understand the issues that are important to the local community.
The neighbourhood sergeants report to a sector inspector.
The ten LPUs are:
- Birmingham North (Sutton Coldfield & Erdington)
- Birmingham West and Central (Ladywood & Perry Barr)
- Birmingham South (Edgbaston, Selly Oak & Northfield)
- Birmingham East (Hodge Hill, Yardley & Hall Green, Alum rock, washwood heath)
- Coventry
- Walsall
- Wolverhampton
- Sandwell
- Solihull
- Dudley
Officers killed in the line of duty
The Police Memorial TrustPolice Memorial Trust
The Police Memorial Trust is a charitable organisation founded in 1984 and based in London. The trust's objective is to erect memorials to British police officers killed in the line of duty, at or near the spot where they died, thereby acting as a permanent reminder to the public of the sacrifice...
lists and commemorates all British police officers killed in the line of duty, and since its establishment in 1984 has erected over 38 memorials to some of those officers.
The following officers of West Midlands Police are listed by the Trust as having died attempting to prevent, stop or solve a crime, since the turn of the 20th century:
- DC Michael SwindellsDeath of Michael SwindellsDC Michael Swindells, QGM, was a British police officer who was stabbed to death on 21 May 2004 in Birmingham whilst attempting to arrest a suspect who had earlier threatened members of the public with a knife.-Background:...
QGM, 2004 (fatally stabbed; posthumously awarded Queen's Gallantry MedalQueen's Gallantry MedalThe Queen's Gallantry Medal is the third level civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.It was instituted on 20 June 1974 to replace the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, the British Empire Medal for Gallantry, and the Colonial Police Medal for Gallantry...
) - PC Malcolm Edward Walker, 2001 (fatally injured when his vehicle was struck during a police pursuitCar chaseA car chase is the vehicular pursuit of a suspect by law enforcement officers. Car chases are often captured on film and broadcast due to the availability of video footage recorded by police cars and police and media helicopters participating in the chase...
) - PC Anthony John Salt, 1989 (fatally injured when assaulted while on surveillance duty)
- PC Gavin Richard Carlton, 1988 (shot)
- PC Colin John Hall, 1987 (collapsed attending a disturbance and died)
- PC Andrew Stephen Le Comte, 1984 (fell from a roof while searching for suspects)
- PC David Christopher Green, 1975 (fatally stabbed during an arrest)
- DS James Stanford QPM, 1965 (fatally stabbed; posthumously awarded Queen's Police MedalQueen's Police MedalThe Queen's Police Medal is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for gallantry or distinguished service. Recipients may use the post-nominal letters "QPM", although the right to use these was only granted officially on 20 July 1969...
) - PC Charles William Sheppard, 1928 (beaten to death attending a disturbance)
- PC Albert Willits, 1925 (shot dead attempting to arrest three men)
- PC Charles Phillip Gunter, 1901 (fatally injured by thrown brick while attempting to disperse a disorderly crowd)
See also
- Law enforcement in the United Kingdom
- List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom
- Table of police forces in the United KingdomTable of police forces in the United KingdomThis table of police forces in the United Kingdom includes territorial police forces and special police forces. It does not include non-police law enforcement agencies or bodies of constables not constituted as police forces.-Table:-England and Wales:...
- West Midlands Fire ServiceWest Midlands Fire ServiceWest Midlands Fire Service is the statutory fire and rescue service responsible for fire protection, prevention, intervention and emergency rescue in the county of the West Midlands in England....
- West Midlands Ambulance ServiceWest Midlands Ambulance ServiceThe West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the second-largest ambulance service in the UK. It is the authority responsible for providing NHS ambulance services in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire.It is one of 12 Ambulance Trusts...