West Midlands Police covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of
Birmingham,
Coventry,
Wolverhampton and also the
Black Country. , the force has 6,846
police officers, 219
special constables, and 467
police community support officers (PCSO), 165
police support volunteers (PSV), and 3,704 staff. In 2019, 10.9% of officers were from a
BAME background, compared with 8.5% in 2014.
Local Policing Areas The area covered by West Midlands Police is divided into seven Local Policing Areas (LPAs). Each LPA is headed by a chief superintendent, responsible for the overall policing and management of the area, supported by a Senior Leadership Team (SLT) composed of a varying number of superintendents and chief inspectors. Each LPA 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
special constables. The force operates
a number of police stations.
Core policing teams West Midlands Police is structured in such a way that there are a number of key teams in each LPA who have the responsibility for dealing with everyday policing duties. The force's current structure was gradually introduced over the past two years with the Solihull and Birmingham South LPUs being the first area to see the change in June 2011, and the Walsall LPU being the last in January 2013. The structural change was introduced as part of the force's 'Continuous Improvement' programme with the ambition of working in a more cost effective and efficient manner and was overseen under the advice of accounting firm
KPMG. They can be allocated to neighbourhoods suffering particular issues, for example anti-social behaviour, and are also often public order trained, so are used for policing football matches, demonstrations and similar occasions. • Supporting neighbourhood teams – Providing specialist support to Neighbourhood Teams for example, conducting drugs warrants or addressing anti-social behaviour. • Addressing local issues – Supporting other front line policing teams and completing tasking as directed by LPU local command teams • Providing support for abstractions – Resourcing abstractions such as football matches, demonstrations and similar incidents so that Neighbourhood officers are able to focus on their beats.
Investigation teams Officers on investigation teams have three main responsibilities, these being secondary investigation, prisoner handling and attending scheduled appointments with the public. These officers are also responsible for completing prosecution files and other paperwork necessary for taking cases to court. Investigation teams are split into a number of shifts, each supervised by a sergeant, and will have an inspector supervising the sergeants. Key responsibilities of investigation teams are as follows: and officers assigned to neighbourhood teams are often supported by PCSOs and special constables. It is not uncommon for busier areas, such as town centres, to have several neighbourhood teams such as the St. Matthews beat covering Walsall town centre, which has two teams. Neighbourhood teams usually have a single sergeant who reports to a sector inspector.
Response Response officers work in shifts around the clock answering the most urgent calls for service received through the force's call centres. It is not unusual for response officers to work alone and each response shift usually has a number of officers who are authorised to carry
Taser. In addition to Taser, some response officers also carry mobile fingerprint ID machines to confirm identities at the roadside. Response officers undergo enhanced driving training and also have a range of other skills required to perform their role including 'method of entry' training so that they can force entry into premises. Many response officers are also public order trained in order to respond to spontaneous disorder should it occur. Response teams are supervised by a number of sergeants and an inspector. Key responsibilities of response teams are as follows: • Primary investigation – Attending incidents in the first instance, Response officers gather available evidence and record offences. Follow up enquiries are then allocated to the investigation teams. • Missing person enquiries – Response officers conduct investigations into missing persons with a low or medium risk assessment. • Traffic – Officers from response teams attend reported road traffic accidents, sometimes supporting force traffic in the case of serious collisions.
Specialist crime teams The core policing teams are supported by, and work closely with, a number of specialist crime teams. West Midlands Police had a
mounted division which was disbanded in 1999 to divert funds elsewhere. The Chief Constable has recently announced plans for this unit to be reintroduced after success in using horses from other forces in the West Midlands, at large scale public order events. Current specialist crime teams include:
Air operations . Air operations in the force's area have been provided by the
National Police Air Service since 2012. Previously, the Midlands Air Operations Unit was a consortium of West Midlands, Warwickshire, West Mercia and Staffordshire Police based at Birmingham Airport. It operated from July 1987, until it was replaced by the After experimenting, since the 1970s, with civilian helicopters hired on an occasional basis, West Midlands Police launched their own air unit on 10 May 1989. The airport has a dedicated airports policing team assigned who work closely with
Border Force customs and immigration officers. Officers working at the airport have additional powers under the
Terrorism Act 2000 as the airport is "designated" under the terms of the Act and some are armed.
Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) West Midlands Police is one of the two police forces who contribute officers to the
Central Motorway Police Group, the other being
Staffordshire Police. CMPG operate out of three main bases, the main headquarters being under the
M6 motorway at
Perry Barr at which their central control room and vehicle depot is situated. CMPG also have a regional control centre in
Quinton, Birmingham shared with
National Highways. Officers attached to CMPG cover a wide geographical area, including in the West Midlands the
M6,
M54 and
A45.
Dog Section Most dogs in the West Midlands Police Dog Section are products of an in-house breeding program which the force has been running at its
Balsall Common training centre since 1994. Specialist
search dogs including Springer Spaniels and Labradors are also used by the Dogs Unit to locate drugs or firearms and explosives. Dogs are continually recruited from rescue centres and from members of the public. All specialist dogs are handled by officers who already have a general purpose police dog, giving the handler responsibility in both training and operational deployment. Prior to 2013 there were 69 operational dog handlers working in West Midlands Police, dogs underwent an initial training program lasting twelve weeks. Officers with the Dog Section patrol in specially adapted Skoda patrol vehicles with air conditioned cages capable of carrying up to three dogs in the rear and operate from bases at
Aston,
Canley and
Wednesbury.
Events planning and football The events planning department has responsibility for co-ordinating large-scale events taking place within the force area and also for ensuring that officers are available should they be required to support other regional forces through mutual aid arrangements. One major responsibility of the department is organising the policing operation for the Autumn political party conferences that are often held at the
International Convention Centre in Birmingham. Included within this department also is the Football Unit who coordinate policing of football games within the West Midlands and operate a team of "spotters" to identify violent supporters and banned individuals. The policing of large-scale events such as football matches, VIP visits and public demonstrations can be coordinated from the force's Events Control Suite (ECS) at the Tally Ho facility in Birmingham. The ECS is able to receive live CCTV footage and has computer facilities for the use of partner agencies with whom the suite is shared.
Firearms West Midlands Police operate a number of
armed response vehicles (ARVs) that patrol the region and respond to incidents typically involving guns, knives or dangerous dogs. Officers undertake a ten-week selection process to join the firearms unit with courses being delivered on weapons, tactics and advanced driving. Alongside attending firearms incidents, officers attached to the firearms unit also provide tactical advice when planning operations and give lectures on firearms awareness to officers and members of the public.
Major Crime Unit Detached from the LPAs, Major Crime is staffed by officers holding a detective qualification and investigate serious and complicated crimes not taken on by Local CID or other departments. Such offences include murders, attempt murders, firearms offences and kidnaps. Major Crime is arranged into a series of investigation teams including a dedicated Homicide Unit, working from
Aston. As well as the Homicide and Reactive Team managing these major investigations, the Unit has a Proactive element which has responsibilities for managing investigations locate and apprehend offenders wanted for the most serious offences. The introduction of the County Lines Task Force has seen a renewed focus on drugs supply across the force and further afield. The CLTF have also safeguarded a number of young people at risk of exploitation. Also working within Major Crime are a series of Payback Teams who are responsible for arranging
asset seizures and confiscations under the
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. During 2011 offenders were forced to pay back £6.3M from proceeds of crime, a 39% increase on the previous year.
Road Policing Department Based at Park Lane, Chelmsley Wood and Wednesbury, the force traffic unit had responsibility for roads policing on all roads inside the West Midlands other than the motorways which are covered by the Central Motorways Policing Group, but since its disbanding the newly bolstered RPD also covers this element of the road network. Officers from the RPD usually hold advanced driving grades and have access to marked and unmarked vehicles, including BMWs and Audis fitted with evidential video recording equipment. Road Policing is supported by a Collision Investigation Unit based at
Aston Police Station who investigate accidents involving fatalities or life-changing injuries. Formerly known as scenes of crime officers (SOCO), scene investigators have access to a wide range of specialist equipment to help with their role and alongside gathering
forensic samples; they also are responsible for
crime scene photography.
Intelligence unit West Midlands Police has dedicated intelligence cells based on each LPU who collate and disseminate information collected by officers from a range of other sources. This role involves "sanitising" intelligence logs and forwarding them on to relevant persons, receiving information from outside sources such as
Crimestoppers, and assisting with the progression of investigations. The intelligence unit is responsible for organising briefing material for officers and police leadership; they also include a covert operations unit, who coordinate
undercover policing operations under the terms of the
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). West Midlands Police is a partner alongside
Warwickshire Police,
West Mercia Police and
Staffordshire Police in the Regional Intelligence Unit collaborative working agreement under which information is shared between the forces on serious and organised criminals affecting the West Midlands Region.
Integrated emergency management (IEM) The Operations Integrated Emergency Management service is responsible for ensuring that the force is ready to respond to major incidents, that business continuity plans are in place and that the force's duty under the
Civil Contingencies Act 2004 is satisfied. This work includes running exercises and drills to test readiness and working closely with other emergency services and local authorities. As part of the service's work, the force also maintains a number of Casualty Bureau facilities at which calls from the public are taken and collated following a major incident such as a plane crash or terrorist attack.
Local CID Each LPU has a Local CID team of officers who hold a detective qualification and conduct secondary investigations into serious offences that occur within their area. Offences that fall under the remit of Local CID include
burglary of dwellings, personal
robberies,
frauds and some vehicle crime.
Offender management unit (OMU) All LPAs have an offender management unit (OMU) who work with partner agencies to concentrate on the offenders living on their areas identified as being particularly difficult or damaging. Offenders who fall into this category include those designated as prolific and other priority offenders (PPOs), drug users, violent criminals and young criminals. Officers from the OMU manage their assigned PPOs under two strands. One consists of rehabilitation and resettlement under which partner agencies are involved in an effort to halt re-offending whilst the other consists of catching and convicting offenders who have been identified as not participating in rehabilitation programmes or are wanted for outstanding crimes. Officers working with the OSU are typically deployed as part of a "serial" of one sergeant and seven officers and have access to specialist equipment and vehicles including armoured land rovers.
Public protection unit (PPU) The public protection unit (PPU) investigates reports of sexual assaults and incidents involving children and vulnerable people. PPU is split between adult and child investigations, is responsible for safeguarding and works with partner agencies such as social services and domestic violence charities. As with CID, most officers working in the PPU hold a detective qualification.
Safer travel The safer travel team is a collaboration between West Midlands Police, the
British Transport Police and
CENTRO, focusing on criminal activity occurring on the public transport network. The team is composed of officers and PCSOs who patrol trains, buses and trams in the region. The Partnership, the first of its type in the country, also has access to around 1,000 CCTV cameras which are located at bus, rail and metro stations, park and ride sites and in bus shelters. The dedicated control centre is staffed 24 hours a day to spot and respond to incidents. A person is "adversely affected" if they suffer any form of loss or damage, distress or inconvenience, if they are put in danger or are otherwise unduly put at risk of being adversely affected. PSD work alongside the
Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), to whom they will refer the most serious allegations. West Midlands Police recorded 501 complaints for 2018/19, a 36 percent drop in comparison to 2017/18 during which 777 complaints were recorded.
Press Office Also known as Corporate Communications, the West Midlands Police Press Office is centralised at headquarters and is charged with representing the force's public image. Each LPU has dedicated Territorial Communications officers and in addition to addressing media enquiries, the Press Office also looks after the force's website and publishes the force's internal online newspaper,
News Beat.
Social media West Midlands Police maintains a presence on
social media websites including
Twitter,
Facebook,
Flickr,
YouTube and
blogging platforms. Several of the force's social media accounts have won recognition as examples of best practice, including Solihull Police's Twitter feed which came first place in the 2012 Golden Twits' Customer Service category and Inspector Brown's Mark Hanson Digital Media Award 2012 for his mental health blog.
Special constabulary Officers belonging to the special constabulary have the same powers as full-time officers and are unpaid volunteers, giving a minimum of sixteen hours a month of duty time. After initial training special constables are deployed wearing the same street uniform as other officers. They can be identified as Specials by their collar numbers, which start with 7 and the 'SC' on their epaulettes. Special constables provide West Midlands Police with around 96,000 hours of voluntary duty each year and usually work alongside regular officers on neighbourhood teams, response teams and also Community Action & Priority Teams. ==PEEL inspection==