West Mercia Police | |
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West Mercia Police Bell
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West Mercia Police Badge
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Agency overview | |
Formed | 1 October 1967 |
Preceding agencies |
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Employees | 4,195 |
Volunteers | 288 |
Annual budget | £203.6 million |
Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction* | Police area of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Worcestershire in the country of England, UK |
Map of police area | |
Size | 7,428 km²/2,868 sqmi |
Population | 1.19 million |
Legal jurisdiction | England & Wales |
Constituting instrument | Police Act 1996 |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | Hindlip Hall, Worcestershire |
PCs | 2,367 (of which 224 are special constables) |
PCSOs | 283 |
PCC responsible | John Paul Campion (Conservatives) |
Agency executives |
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Child agency | Central Motorway Police Group, Central Counties Air Operations Unit |
Territorial Policing Units |
5
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Facilities | |
Police Stations | 48 |
Cars | 609 |
Vans | 140 |
Motorbikes | 37 |
Helicopters | Single aircraft EC135 of the Central Counties Air Operations Unit |
Website | |
www.westmercia.police.uk | |
Footnotes | |
* Police area agency: Prescribed geographic area in the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. |
West Mercia Police, formerly known as West Mercia Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire (including Telford and Wrekin) and Worcestershire in England. The force area covers 2,868 square miles (7,430 km2) making it the fourth largest police area in England and Wales. The resident population of the area is 1.19 million.
The force is divided into five divisions and represent a very wide spread of policing environments from densely populated urban conurbations on the edge of Birmingham as well as Telford, Shrewsbury, and Worcester, to sparsely populated rural areas found in the rest of the force area.
As of June 2014, the force employs 2367 police officers, 283 police community support officers, 1779 police staff and 224 members of the special constabulary. West Mercia is Home Office force 22 and call sign YK.
The force has its headquarters in the historical manor house and grounds of Hindlip Hall on the outskirts of the city of Worcester. Its badge combines the heraldry of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire.
West Mercia Police has two control rooms, one in headquaters in Hindlip and a North control room in Battlefield, Shrewsbury.
The force was formed on 1 October 1967, by the merger of the Worcestershire Constabulary, Herefordshire Constabulary, Shropshire Constabulary and Worcester City Police. It lost territory to West Midlands Police when that was constituted on 1 April 1974. It changed its name from "West Mercia Constabulary" to "West Mercia Police" on 5 May 2009.
West Mercia is a partner, alongside two other forces, in the Central Motorway Police Group. In 2013 an alliance was formed with Warwickshire Police.