West Mercia Police is overseen by an elected West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner, which replaced the West Mercia Police Authority in 2012. The force is organised into five Local Policing Units which are alphabetically coded geographically from south to north. Operating across three counties, West Mercia Police maintains many stations, with each LPA having an HQ Police station. The LPAs are further divided into Safer Neighbourhood Teams ; there are 82 SNTs across the force. Listed below are the LPAs and police stations maintained by the force:
A volunteer cadet scheme had existed in the Telford division since the early 1990s and in September 2013, the scheme was expanded force-wide, creating a new detachment of police cadets in each Territorial Policing Unit area. Each detachment is headquartered in the respective TPU HQ, except the South Worcestershire detachment, which is based at Tudor Grange Academy. In 2010, the Telford Cadets Detachment was awarded The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. According to West Mercia Police's website, "The scheme is aimed at young people who wish to engage in a program that offers them an opportunity to gain a practical understanding of policing, develop their spirit of adventure and good citizenship, while supporting their local policing priorities through volunteering, working with partner agencies and positive participation in their communities." A new intake of approximately 15 new cadets per detachment occurs annually. New recruits must be aged 16 or over and have finished secondary education. Young people can remain as cadets for up to two years. Cadets can then consider joining the force at age 18, becoming a cadet leader in their detachment, or leaving the scheme altogether. Each detachment is led by several cadet leaders who are police officers, PCSOs and police volunteers from the force.
Merger plans
In November 2005, the government announced major reforms of policing in England and Wales, including the possibility of mergers. Under final proposals made by the Home Secretary on 6 February 2006, it would merge with Staffordshire Police, Warwickshire Constabulary and West Midlands Police to form a single strategic force for the West Midlands region. The proposals were unpopular with many of the local authorities in the West Mercia area, but was criticised especially strongly by West Mercia Constabulary inself, especially as at the time it was rated the best force in the country. When John Reid became Home Secretary in 2006, he put all merger plans on hold. Subsequent governments have not made any indication of re-introducing such plans.
Alliances
West Mercia was a partner, alongside two other forces, in the Central Motorway Police Group. On 8 April 2018 West Mercia withdrew from the CPMG, with the 25 West Mercia police officers attached to the group returning to the in-force roads policing service. In 2013, West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police formed an alliance, sharing certain administrative functions in order to save both forces money. In October 2018 West Mercia announced its intention to withdraw from the alliance. This announcement came as a shock to staff in both forces.
