Police welcome Commissioner to new roadside base

Our road policing officers welcomed Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime, Ben Adams, to a new look roadside depot that will help us keep the county’s roads safe.

National Highways has now completed the redevelopment of its base in Doxey, Stafford.

The new two-storey building brings together officers from the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) and the Staffordshire and West Midlands Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit with the organisation’s office and operations staff, including its maintenance and response contractor, Colas.

CMPG is a co-operative operation between Staffordshire Police and West Midlands Police, providing a dedicated policing service on several hundred miles of the motorway network, including busy stretches of the M5, M6, M6 Toll, M42 and M54.

CMPG sergeant, Nick Morris, said: “It’s a fantastic building and we’re happy to be here. It makes operational sense, allowing us to work more closely with our partner agencies and helping us to make the very best use of our resources.

“Our aim is to stop crime on the region's roads, with improving the safety and wellbeing of the public underpinning everything we do on a day-to-day basis. For us to achieve this it is important that we continue to build genuine and long-lasting partnerships that focus on collective aims. This new base will no doubt help us do this.”

Sergeant Richard Moors, from the collision investigation unit, said: “Road traffic collisions have a huge impact on those involved and their families. Being under one new roof with our partners will enable us to better collaborate, which will in turn help our dedicated officers to continue their hard work to give people the best possible outcomes.”

Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime, Ben Adams, said: “Tackling criminality on our roads and reducing serious accidents are key priorities for me as Commissioner.

“When I see the names of those lost on our roads, it brings home the distress and pain that their families and friends will experience. The commitment of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit to supporting them is commendable and their new base at Doxey will help them continue to do this important job alongside their colleagues in CMPG and Roads Policing.

“Bringing together these teams in a modern, shared facility will allow closer partnership working and information sharing, which in turn will benefit road users across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent and help to keep us all safe.”

National Highways Head of Service Delivery, Colin Lowther, said: “We work very closely with our police partners to help keep our roads moving and people safe.

"Doxey is one of a number of new depots which are making the best use of modern techniques and technology to support our staff and the environment, and bringing together people who used to work in different places so they can work as one team.

“Sharing the base with CMPG can only further improve collaboration and our common goals on the roads network.

“Our workforce are very important to us and it was paramount during the development of the depot that we gave people a great place to work, near the road network, where they can plan and carry out their roles.”