Interview ANDREW TROTTER
performance. That sort of thing appeals to the rail industry because that’s the language it understands.’
A help and not just a cost
Asked if there was anything he would like the rail industry to do differently or better, Trotter pointed to an improvement in integrating the BTP’s planning. ‘We ask the industry in its planning to really think about the crime prevention side of things. We like to get our views over and have some really good experts who can help.’
‘Different franchise lengths result in different levels of investment and that has an impact because there are times when actually we’d like much more investment if it were possible; whilst I’m aware that it’s a business and people will say, ‘What’s the return on that’, we’d like more CCTV and more lighting and staff everywhere.
the BTP. We’ve set our standards high, and when I joined they weren’t if I’m honest.’ Warming to that theme, Trotter said: ‘I’m clear that I want bright, sharp people with the right attitude. I’ve set this challenge for my Learning Development department, ‘How do you test for enthusiasm, drive and energy?’ I’d trade anything for those things. Persistence, resilience, good manners, ability to use discretion and common sense – these are big asks these days. Show me those people and we can train them. So I like a high level of intelligence and a really good character, because my philosophy is that I want them out there as I say, often on their own and with probably less supervision than they had before. I want fewer supervisors, fewer bosses, and more people who are self-motivated, with a clear direction on what I want to do and who get on with it.’
Coping with the predicted future With rising passenger demand, huge developments nationally including HS2 and Crossrail - how will the BTP cope? Trotter seems un-phased and says it’s great to be part of a booming industry, but then admits these developments will bring challenges, alongside issues such as retail shoplifting, and having bars and clubs on railway premises, which will require their own set of policing demands. ‘There is a need to make sure our work with local forces at transport hubs is looked at in the round,’ he explained. ‘One of the reasons that we’re going through the current restructuring to bring more officers out is for that very reason, that as we look forwards - we set ourselves 2019 as an end goal to our strategy - and look at all the different factors, it’s going to increase demand, but our budget is unlikely to go up. The structure we had hitherto has delivered a very good performance and good stakeholder relationships and I won’t lose that. But the challenge is, how are we going to provide more for the same money? People talk about the decrease in football violence, well not in our world there isn’t. We’re seeing more demonstrations that people get to on the train, and if you look at some of our weekend activities in any part of the country it could be a football fixture, a rugby international, Aintree, York races, the Notting Hill Carnival, New Year’s Eve – the demands are huge.’ Trotter is stoic about the budget situation. ‘We know we’ve got a funding stream from the rail industry and within that we will do our very best to provide the service. If the budget were doubled of course I would do much more, but that’s not going to happen. The pressures from McNulty, the fact that we are a non-departmental public body reporting to the DfT means we are subject to the sort of constraints the public sector is facing at the moment, so we have an interesting set of challenges in that we’ve got to demonstrate we’re no different from any other part of the public sector and we will take our part in the cuts. In fact we’ve cut our budget by just under 14 per cent in real terms over the past few years and delivered much better operational
‘Overall though, I think we’ve learned a lot with the industry, and in terms of the working together ethos I think there’s been a real improvement, so it’s not a criticism, more of a ‘please can we continue with a similar approach’, because we are here to help and I don’t want to be seen as just a cost that comes into this. I want to be integrated into the business while maintaining the proper due distinction in our roles. ‘There is more to be done,’ feels Trotter, ‘but the investment
from Network Rail on level crossing vans and cable theft etc has been really impressive and NR has been a great partner to us, as have individual Toc’s. The work we do with London Overground has been very integrated, so it genuinely feels like we have better and better partnerships just about everywhere in the country. Even when we have bouncy times over the costs, we still get railway companies paying for more PCSO’s in rural stations and it’s made a big, big, difference.’
A deepening partnership In concluding, I asked Trotter if he wanted to convey a message, rather than be asked questions. ‘I’d like to say a big thanks to the rail industry, not only for the way it has improved hugely over the years in its operating procedures, but the way it works with us in partnership has made a big difference. I think we now have an integral role, working with the industry in prevention and planning as well as reacting, and we are increasingly treated as partners in the business, not just as a service provider.’
We care about the business All relationships are a two-way street and again, Trotter readily admits a very different story could be told a few years ago on matters other than finance. ‘We would have had a lot of stick from the rail unions about, perhaps, the way we dealt with staff assaults. We would have had a lot of stick from many of the managers in the business for the way we went about our business. They didn’t feel that we were quite as empathetic as we could have been, or understood the needs of the industry quite enough. Nowadays, while there will always be occasions when we get things wrong or could do better, the fact that managers know they can call me directly and that we care about the business and we listen; the fact that we engage them in our policing plan, along with the Police Authority, means they feel they’re involved. We have gone out of our way to say, ‘What do you want? How can we do it and how can we do it better?’ I think the industry appreciates that. If I’d have gone to some rail meetings a few years ago they would have been a lot bouncier than they are now.’
‘So you enjoy your job enormously by the sounds of it?’ I ask. ‘Oh yes, there are times when you sit through multiple committees and you’d rather be elsewhere, but it’s great fun,’ he said laughing. And as I go through the door Trotter betrayed the fact that first and foremost he is a policeman, saying, ‘When I tell my colleagues I’m doing an interview with a rail magazine they say I’m turning into a trainspotter.’ But I get the feeling he’s ok with that.
May 2013 Page 33
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