CRIME PREVENTION
Chief Superintendent Miles Flood of British Transport Police discusses the problem of route crime on the rail network, which has been increasing in recent years.
D
espite the success of the industry over a sustained period, route crime re- mains a serious threat to the rail network. People have put obstructions in front of trains, vandalised the railway infrastruc- ture, thrown missiles from bridges and embankments and trespassed on lines since the dawn of the rail era. However, that should not lead to complacency. This is a problem that, as has been proved over time, can be largely mitigated by a partner- ship approach from all agencies.
British Transport Police leads on the en- forcement strand of the cross-industry route crime strategy, known as the 5Es, and has a big role to play in the others:
Enabling – having the organisation, finance and planning in place to make it happen Education – of children, opinion formers and the industry itself Engineering – solutions looking at crime prevention, boundaries, surveillance and more
“The problem of route crime and trespass is as old as the railways themselves,” says Chief Superintendent Miles Flood. “The important lesson we have learned in tack- ling it, is that no one agency has the an- swer, by working together we can achieve far better results.”
The success of the 5Es strategy – the fifth “E” stands for evaluation – is clear. Over five years, route crime and vandalism (criminal damage, endangering safety, ob- structing trains and missile throwing) has halved. Trespass is down 45%, at a time of increased pro-activity on the part of police and industry partners.
A major issue around trespass is that out- side the railway environment it is not viewed as a crime, but in the unforgiving environment of a safety critical system, it is a significant cause of disruption and, more importantly, a major safety hazard that can lead to both tragic and fatal results.
The figures speak for themselves: as well as almost 9,000 trespass reports in 2010/11, there were 235 fatalities and 52 major injuries.
Trespassers spotted on lines lead to trains being cautioned, held, current discharged and valuable rail staff and police resources
48 | rail technology magazine Aug/Sep 11
Vandalism is defined as criminal damage, arson, graffiti, endangering safety, obstructing trains and missile throwing.
diverted. That translates into delays, incon- venience, service disruption and bottom line costs for rail businesses. In the extreme, it means harm to passengers and staff.
The reduction of disruption and the associ- ated operational and financial impact is a key national target in BTP’s 2011/12 polic- ing plan.
That objective covers a range of offences, including route crime and trespass, as well as cable theft and level crossing misuse, which are the two biggest disruption fac- tors for the network.
“With 10,000 miles of track spread over most of Britain, an intelligence-led approach to targeting resources is clearly very impor- tant,” says Chief Superintendent Flood.
“This policing plan objective will be met through effective local problem solving plans agreed between British Transport Police Areas and railway operators. We aim to build on last year’s success, which saw line of route offences reduced by over 12% and stone-throwing offences down almost a quarter. Endangering safety was also down 4%, but we will not rest there: these crimes are still too prevalent and every sin- gle one is a potential disaster.”
This was evident when two Tamworth men admitted deliberately placing objects on the line at Dosthill, very nearly causing a train to derail at 95mph.
A swift response by police working with Net- work Rail and CrossCountry, who pledged a £10,000 reward, led to the men being ar-
rested and charged in under two weeks. The men were given four and four-and-a-half year prison sentences at Warwick Crown Court.
The use of helicopters, dedicated trains, known as Q trains, and covert surveillance, backed by good analysis, leads to success- ful detections for these offences.
However, whilst results are good, this is one crime where, given the safety critical nature of most of the offences, the empha- sis must be on prevention and deterrence.
Through targeting hot spot areas with high visibility patrols, the use of technol- ogy and incorporating good housekeeping and engineering solutions route crime can be made harder to commit and far less ap- pealing as an activity.
“Like most categories of crime, community involvement and information is critically important,” says Chief Superintendent Flood.
“If we can raise awareness about the impact and tragic consequences of route crime amongst the railway community and those living nearby, if we can show them that in one way or another they end up paying for the delays, repairs and downtime, then they will help us solve it.”
Ch Supt Miles Flood
FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit
www.btp.police.uk
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