More about this area

The force says...

Covering 7,428 square kilometres West Mercia Police is the fourth largest geographic police area in England and Wales. Our communities cover three counties: Herefordshire, Shropshire (which includes Telford and Wrekin) and Worcestershire with more than 1.2 million people living in the areas we serve.

Whilst many of our communities are rural there are significant urban areas and small areas of significant social deprivation that are among the 10 percent most deprived areas nationally.

With a view to reviewing collaboration agreements the force started a formal process in October 2018 to bring an existing strategic alliance with neighbouring Warwickshire Police to an end. This carefully considered decision was made with communities in mind and in moving toward a standalone force from October 2019 we start a new chapter for West Mercia Police that will ensure the public get better value for money.

In 2019 West Mercia Police will benefit from the recruitment of an additional 115 police officers. This significant uplift in officers will take the force to its highest number since 2012 with an establishment of 2,145 police officers.

Calls to 999 continue to rise, with an increase of 11% on last year. The demand linked to protecting vulnerable people continues to increase in line with the national trend. In the main this is to be welcomed, reflecting increased confidence amongst victims and improved recording practices.

We are proud that in a recent survey of more than 3000 local people 94% stated that West Mercia Police have their support, with 85% confident that they would receive a good service. Our aim is to further improve on these figures by keeping a clear focus on protecting people from harm with our core values of putting the public first, taking ownership and acting with courage and compassion.

Disclaimer: the above statement has been prepared by West Mercia Police. The views and information in it are not necessarily those of HMICFRS.