Highway patrol officers set to free up more police resources

The by-ways and bottlenecks of Britain will have a new addition from next year – the Highways Agency traffic officers - who will patrol the nation's motorways twenty-four hours a day.

The traffic officers will be given new powers to deal with traffic diversions, incident management and ensuring the roads are running smoothly - and in doing so release more police officers to concentrate on serious crime.

The plans, developed jointly with government and the Association of Chief Police Officers, mean that from 2004, the Highways Agency will have a more active role in managing strategic roads - taking on some traffic management duties from the police.

Under the new plans, the Highways Agency will be also responsible for coordinating the transport of heavy loads, answering emergency roadside calls, and dealing with abandoned, damaged and broken down vehicles. However, the police will continue to investigate accidents and be entirely responsible for law enforcement.

The first office, covering the West Midlands, will be operational on the Birmingham motorways early next year.

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said: "Currently 42 individual police forces manage traffic on our roads - taking up valuable police time on traffic management. By simplifying traffic management arrangements - we can take a more strategic and coordinated view of congestion across the network.

"This will free up police time for law enforcement and ensure motorists are given the best possible traffic information so that time stuck in jams is kept to a minimum."

Stephen Green, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said that there would be greater benefits to motorists and police could also to focus on their core responsibilities.

"Currently a significant amount of police time is spent managing traffic on the road network. By releasing police officers from traffic duties, they will be able to spend more time and resources dealing with crime. In total, these new plans will free up the equivalent of £20 million each year - the work of 540 police officers," he said.

The Highways Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Transport, which manages, maintains and improves the network of trunk roads and motorways in England.

It works closely with other transport operators and with local authorities to integrate the trunk road network with the rest of England's roads and other forms of transport.

(GMcG)