History of CMPG

The Central Motorway Police Group started life in 1990 when West Midlands Police and West Mercia Constabulary formed a partnership in order to effectively provide a dedicated policing unit for the M6, M5 and M42 motorways surrounding Birmingham, in the West Midlands and North Worcestershire. This consisted of some 100 miles of the busiest motorway link in Europe and was colloquially known as "The Birmingham Box".

In January 2001 Staffordshire Police joined the partnership, adding another 96 miles of the M6 and the M54 motorways within the county, to the unit's patrol area.

In April 2001 Warwickshire police entered the group. At the same time West Mercia Constabulary increased its input into the partnership. These developments brought the rest of the M5 in Worcestershire, the M50, the M54, the remainder of the M42, the M6, the M40 and the A45/46 corridor in Warwickshire under the group's responsibility. These additions increased the area covered to 630 miles of carriageway.

In June 2007, Warwickshire left the Central Motorway Policing Group.

The area consists of a mix of heavily congested urban and elevated sections within the West Midlands conurbation, together with rural stretches within the Staffordshire and West Mercia force areas, where speeds tend to be far higher. The infrastructure of the surrounding cities, towns and countryside adds to the variety of policing problems that can be encountered.