BRITAIN’S first American-style Highway Patrol could be launched on Merseyside within the next few months, the Daily Post can reveal.

Police in Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire police forces are in discussions about joining forces to establish what would be the UK’s first ever dedicated motorway police force. If backed by the three police authorities, it will enable a dedicated team of highly skilled traffic officers to patrol several hundred miles of motorway.

Although the aim would be for the officers attached to the dedicated motorway police unit to remain with their own forces, the link-up is likely to eventually lead to a separate motorway police force, gradually expanding as more police forces join.

The proposal has been prompted by the scrapping of proposals last year to merge a number of UK police forces.

That would have seen Merseyside and Cheshire becoming one force, but the Home Office withdrew the nationwide merger programme. Talks that started as a result of the ill-fated merger plans did, however, open the door to cross-border collaboration between neighbouring forces.

Last night Merseyside Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe gave a cautious welcome to the proposals.

He is expected to present details to Merseyside Police Authority early in the New Year. If that timetable was met the new motorway unit could be in place as early as March.

Manchester and Cumbria are so far not involved in the proposed collaboration, but the hope would be they would consider joining Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire later on. Mr Hogan-Howe said: “When we examine the activities of professional criminals it is quite clear they regularly use our motorways to get around. At the moment each force patrols it own stretches of motorways, but we only cross boundaries in pursuit situations. Officers on motorway patrol at the moment are attached to police traffic units, and also carry out work away from motorways, such as accidents or incidents on A-roads. One advantage of a joint motorway unit is that a dedicated team of police officers will patrol the entire system of motorways within the three counties.

“We believe it could be a useful tool in crime detection, particularly with modern technology such as vehicle recognition.”

The government’s Highways Agency recently introduced a force of civilian traffic officers on the motorway network in the North West.

Based in a control room at Newton-le-Willows, the Traffic Officers go to the aid of stranded motorists marooned on the hard shoulder and work with the police at accidents and incidents when motorway lanes have to be closed.

If the motorway patrol unit proves a success it could even mean the eventual absorption into the force of the Highways Agency Traffic Support Unit.

The pilot scheme in Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire is expected to be watched with interest by other forces around the country which cover large stretches of motorway.

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