UNMARKED police cars are a vital part of keeping roads safe, including motorways, according to West Mercia’s police and crime commissioner.

John Campion said there is a ‘bubble of lawfulness’ around marked cars that doesn’t exist elsewhere.

He was speaking at last week’s meeting of the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel where local councillor Peter Huseman asked about “numerous unmarked police vehicles” being spotted on the region’s motorways.

“Should these be converted into marked vehicles to increase visibility and so [for] prevention rather than for speed enforcement, which I suspect is their primary role?” he said.

Mr Campion responded: “The predominance of our police fleet is marked – it’s the bread and butter of what the police do, but an unmarked vehicle, particularly on the roadside, is an effective part of what we are trying to do, which is to tackle behaviour which isn’t just speed.

“It would be naive and incorrect to suggest it is just about speed. If you’re using your mobile phone while going down the M54 and a marked police car comes past you’re likely to put it down. If an unmarked police car comes past, you’re not necessarily likely to put it down.

“Having travelled in many marked police cars and many unmarked police cars, I can assure you there is a bubble of lawfulness often around a marked police car that isn’t there when you’re in an unmarked one.

“That is what we see every day isn’t it, as motorists? I think they’re vital, but they represent an incredibly small part of West Mercia Police.”

Mr Campion said he was driving away from an event when a biker did a wheelie and “dropped its wheel literally on the side of my vehicle, and I tutted to myself as commissioner, ‘there’s never a cop round when you want one’.