900 arrests in road cops' first year

Force says figures following restructure justify their tactics

- Dave Knapper [e-mail]

MORE than 11,300 motorists were stopped and 900 arrested in one year - as police continue their crackdown on bad driving.

Staffordshire Police's road crime team say the figures prove their approach is working. It follows a restructuring of how the county's road network is policed.

The former Central Motorway Police Group was dissolved, and collision investigators previously covering both the county and the broader West Midlands are now solely focusing on Staffordshire.

The new roads team is led by Chief Inspector Scott McGrath, right, and Inspector Chris Moss. In its first year the team has made 939 arrests, seized 2,204 vehicles, issued 7,030 traffic offence reports, put prohibitions on 830 'dangerous vehicles, recovered 265 stolen vehicles, carried out 3,636 drink/drug drive tests, along with stopping a total of 11,372 vehicles. Officers have also conducted 571 stop and searches.