“I think the positive report that Bernard Hogan-Howe and his team have delivered is a real vote of confidence in our staff and organisation,” said the British Transport Police’s (BTP) deputy chief constable Paul Crowther.
“We have reduced crime over six consecutive years on the rail system, and increased the visibility of our uniformed police officers and Police Community Support Officers.”
Crowther is “particularly pleased” that the inspection team views the BTP’s handling of the approximately 300 fatalities experienced every year on the rail system as a real strength.
“Our overriding priorities at these incidents are the preservation of life and the safety of the public,” added Crowther. “However, these incidents have the potential to cause very serious disruption for thousands of people, and it’s an important part of our task to help restore the network to normality as expeditiously as possible, as well as to thoroughly investigate each death.”
Five recommendations made by HMIC
The HMIC report makes five recommendations, all of which have been accepted by the BTP. They are as follows:
- Recommendation 1: BTP to introduce a system which identifies repeat and vulnerable victims, then takes action to reduce repeat victimisation.
- Recommendation 2: In order to maximise the impact against cable theft, the BTP should thoroughly review its approach to tackling this crime type. The review should include how the force gathers, shares and analyses intelligence, an assessment of preventative measures that have been introduced and the effectiveness of enforcement activity.
- Recommendation 3: BTP shares good practice in managing fatalities and delay on the railways with ACPO to enable other forces to identify if there are more effective ways of managing delays caused by road traffic collisions on major road networks.
- Recommendation 4: BTP assesses and reports in more detail the operational impact and risks associated with its scenario planning against a range of budget cuts.
- Recommendation 5: Abstractions of neighbourhood policing teams be reported by area and monitored at the force level so that BTP can ensure teams are spending at least 80% of their time in their neighbourhoods.
Responding to immediate incidents and reducing violent offences
The report goes on to state that: “The BTP is doing particularly well in the areas of responding to immediate incidents, reducing violent offences, improving victim satisfaction, investigating fatalities and returning the railway to normality.”
DCC Crowther added: “Cable theft is a real challenge for us, and we are working with Network Rail to find new ways to tackle this area of crime. We are also working with train operating companies to improve passengers’ perceptions of how safe they are when travelling by train.”
Crowther stated that the BTP has set itself “stretching targets” to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour on the railway “in order to increase confidence among both passengers and staff.”
The HMIC report concludes: “The inspection team were left with the impression of a body of officers and staff who are committed to providing a professional and quality service both to rail passengers and to the industry.”
The HMIC’s 2011 inspection report can be downloaded from both the HMIC and BTP websites (dedicated links are provided on the right hand panel of this page)
Further information about the BTP
The British Transport Police is the specialist, national police service for Britain’s railways. BTP deals with major and minor crime, disorder and incidents, and covers the rail system in England, Wales and Scotland (including the London Underground, the Docklands Light Railway, the Glasgow Subway and the Midland Metro and Croydon Tramlink systems).
Its 2,914 police officers, 322 Police Community Support Officers, 190 Special Constables and 1,316 support staff are recruited and trained like those of local forces and have the same powers.