§ Mr. Tinnasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made by the Police Research and Planning Branch of his Department in its inquiry into the policing of main trunk roads and motorways; and whether he will make a statement.
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§ Sir F. SoskiceThe Police Research and Planning Branch recently completed the first part of an inquiry into the basic standards of policing for motorways and major through routes on behalf of a working party representative of police authorities and chief constables, the Ministry of Transport and the Home Office. This consisted of an examination of the special problems presented by motorways and included a field experiment on the M.6 motorway last year in co-operation with the police authorities and chief constables of Lancashire, Cheshire and Staffordshire. Much useful information was obtained and the detailed report made is under consideration by the working party.
The Branch has started to work on the second part of its inquiry, into the problem of through routes other than motorways and the possible application to them of some of the preliminary conclusions reached in regard to motorways.
This is to include a full-scale field experiment in the West Country. With the support and agreement of the police authorities and chief constables concerned, for which I am grateful, a combined traffic squad will be set up for a period of five months, beginning on 1st August, composed of officers drawn from the forces of Bath, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Exeter, Gloucestershire, Plymouth, Somerset and Wiltshire.
The period of the experiment is designed to cover variations in the density of traffic on the main roads in the area.
The results will be evaluated as quickly as possible after the conclusion of the experiment with the object of providing guidance for police authorities and chief constables, after discussion with the representative bodies concerned.