Mersey Tunnel Police
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The Mersey Tunnels Police is a small, specialised, non-Home Office police force that provides policing services for the
Mersey Tunnels The Mersey Tunnels connect the city of Liverpool with Wirral, under the River Mersey. There are three tunnels: the Mersey Railway Tunnel (opened 1886), and two road tunnels, the Queensway Tunnel (opened 1934) and the Kingsway Tunnel (opened 1 ...
in
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The force, which comprises fifty one officers from Constable to Chief Police Officer is responsible for effective road policing of the Mersey Tunnels, Approach Roads and Exit Roads. It is privately funded by Merseytravel which in turn reports to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.


Role and powers

Mersey Tunnels Police officers hold the office of
constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
and take their powers from Section 105 of the County of Merseyside Act (1980). Unlike most police services in England and Wales, the service is answerable to the
Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive Merseytravel is the passenger transport executive, responsible for the coordination of public transport in the Liverpool City Region in North West England. Merseytravel was established on 1 December 1969 as the Merseyside Passenger Transport ...
rather than the Home Office. The executive also appoints the service's officers who are formally sworn in as police constables by a
justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
. As of 2010 the service consisted of around 55 officers across the various ranks.


Jurisdiction

The service's jurisdiction consists of the tunnels themselves, marshaling areas, entrance/exit roads and all Mersey Tunnels premises. Officers execute their duties in accordance with The Mersey Tunnels Bylaws. In some cases, officers may assist with high-urgency motorway incidents in the surrounding area where other patrols are further away. The tunnels service have primary responsibility for these areas, meaning they enforce the Mersey Tunnels
bylaw A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...
s and like all other police services the various and relevant UK statute law/legislation although perhaps by the nature of the role primarily the Road Traffic Act. Mersey Tunnels Police officers are the first line responders to any incidents or emergencies within the tunnels or premises although certain incidents and enquiries of a serious nature may be dealt with by
Merseyside Police Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The service area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million. As of September 2017 the service has 3,484 police of ...
in accordance with local agreements between the two services.


History and strength

Formed in January 1936 with two inspectors, four sergeants and 14 constables they undertook motorcycle patrols of the tunnels. The force grew to a maximum strength of 1 Chief Superintendent, 1 Chief Inspector, 5 Inspectors, 15 Sergeants and 60 Constables. As of January 2015, the establishment of the service consisted of 51 officers, divided amongst the following ranks: One chief officer, five inspectors, 10 sergeants and 35 constables.


Rank structure

The ranks of the Mersey Tunnels Police consists of: All officers have the ''powers of a constable'', regardless of rank (see above for details).


Uniform, training and equipment

Mersey Tunnel Police officers wear a uniform similar to other police forces, but wear white-topped peaked caps, as traffic officers. Personal protective equipment (PPE) include: *Manadnock auto-lock baton *Rigid handcuffs *Stab vests *Personal radios. All officers are trained Police Level 4 Response Driving Standards, as MTP is a specialist traffic service. Training is done by MTP instructors and the
Liverpool Cathedral Constables Liverpool Cathedral Constables are a cathedral constabulary responsible for providing security for Liverpool Cathedral. History Its officers follow a long-held tradition of cathedral constables dating back to the thirteenth century. At one time ...
hold kit in their facility.


Vehicles

The service uses a small range of vehicles. The newest models bought in 2010 being the Land Rover Discovery IV (3 litre) and Ford S-Max. Additionally, the service has some older Ford Galaxy and Land Rover Discovery II models which are also planned to be replaced in the second half of 2010 with Ford and Land Rover Freelander vehicles. As of 2021 the force have total of 9 Police vehicles, 2 X BMW X3, 2 X
Volvo V60 The Volvo V60 is a compact wagon produced by Volvo Cars related to the S60. The vehicle was first released in autumn 2010, facelifted in 2014, and is in its second generation since 2018. The second generation V60 was launched in 2018 based on t ...
, 2 X
Volvo XC70 The Volvo V70 is an executive car manufactured and marketed by Volvo Cars from 1996 to 2016 across three generations. The name ''V70'' combines the letter ''V'', standing for ''versatility'', and ''70'', denoting relative platform size (i.e., a ...
, which has 4 wheel drive capability. 2 X Land Rover Discovery IV, 1 X Mercedes Vito Cell Van,


Media coverage

The Police service was heavily criticised by the Merseyside
coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
for its handling of a pursuit in which two 14-year-old boys were killed in 2003 after crashing a stolen car into a roadblock set up by Mersey Tunnels officers. The coroner went so far as to recommend that either the policing of the tunnel should be altogether transferred to Merseyside Police, or tunnel officers should be trained to national policing standards. All officers are now trained in Police Level 4 Response Driving Standards.


Fallen officers

The MTP has lost one officer in the line of duty: *PC Derek McIntyre, struck and killed by a vehicle (10 November 1967).


See also

* List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories *
Law enforcement in the United Kingdom Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Most law enforcement is carried out by police officers serving in regional pol ...
* Port of Liverpool Police *
Merseyside Police Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The service area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million. As of September 2017 the service has 3,484 police of ...


References


External links


Images of Mersey Tunnels Police on Flickr
{{UK private and military police forces Police forces of England Transport in Merseyside Liverpool Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Specialist law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom