CTPWM cuts pursuit coordination time by 31%

How Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands deployed Blue Light Maps.

By the numbers

-31%
Pursuit coordination time
47
Units on platform
11 weeks
Deployment timeline
<2s
ANPR overlay refresh
SO
DI Sarah Okafor
OPERATIONS LEAD · CTPWM

"Three units, three different routes, all visible to each other in real time. The boxing-in pattern used to need radio coordination. Now it just happens."

When CTPWM evaluated Blue Light Maps in late 2025, the brief was specific: their existing routing tools didn’t talk to each other, which made multi-unit pursuit coordination dependent on the kind of radio choreography that only works when everyone involved has been doing it for ten years.

The integration into CTPWM’s secure dispatch infrastructure took 11 weeks end-to-end — longer than the typical 3-4 week CAD integration because of the additional security review required for the counter-terror operational data. Once live, the platform’s per-unit position visibility (still inside the CTPWM network boundary; no responder data leaves the perimeter) let units coordinate visually rather than verbally.

What “31% faster” means in practice

The 31% figure measures the time from a pursuit going live to all coordinating units being on a coordinated route. The replaced workflow was: lead unit calls position over radio, support units relay their positions back, control room verbally directs the boxing-in pattern. The Blue Light Maps workflow is: all units see each other’s positions and intended routes on a shared overlay; the boxing-in pattern resolves itself in 4-6 seconds instead of 60-90.

“It’s not that pursuits are won or lost in 60 seconds — they’re not. But the cognitive load on the lead driver dropped a lot when they could see the support unit’s actual position rather than imagining it from a radio call.”

The platform sits alongside CTPWM’s existing CAD rather than replacing any part of it. Every action a crew takes in the responder app generates an audit log entry in CAD — the operational record of who did what, when, is unchanged from a procurement standpoint.

What’s next

CTPWM are now evaluating the same platform for non-pursuit work: ANPR-rich routing for general response, restricted-zone overlays for protected sites, and integration with their existing intelligence-led deployment tooling. The 11-week security review for the pursuit deployment makes the second phase faster — the platform’s already inside the perimeter; new use cases are configuration, not deployment.

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