COMMENT
New plans to get to the ‘route’ of policing need on Britain’s railway
The British Transport Police Authority has unveiled national plans for policing Britain’s railways which they say will deliver policing that gets to the ‘route’ of what matters most to the rail industry. Authority chair Millie Banerjee explains more.
T
he British Transport Police Authority (BTPA), which oversees the work of the
British Transport Police (BTP), sets the force’s local and national targets each year. This year the emphasis for the plans has shifted from area-based to line of route – a move which is expected to deliver more efficient and effective policing.
BTPA and BTP spent much of last year carrying out in-depth consultations with those who own, operate, work or travel on the railways to understand what policing priorities mattered to them most.
Adopting a ‘bottom-up’ approach, they worked with those on the ground to ensure decisions taken at the top reflect policing priorities on specific routes and responded to the needs of the industry more widely.
We have set ourselves ambitious targets to meet by 2019 so it is important to build on the momentum of the successful work carried out over the last two years.
In delivering this year’s plans we took a three-pronged attack. We spent time talking to the rail industry about what they wanted. We worked closely with those at the front end of rail service delivery to get the bottom of what they needed and then we responded, looking at what we could do to help achieve the priorities, even restructuring the force to support delivery.
The force restructure, completed on 1 April, involved replacing the previous model of seven force areas with three divisions covering all of Britain, each with an Assistant Chief Constable with an operational overview.
The restructure is expected to enhance relations with stakeholders, who now have a clear direct line of contact. It will deliver better value for money, improve performance and
22 | rail technology magazine Apr/May 14
visibility and facilitate better integration with the rail industry. Each division is made up of sub-divisions (eight in total nationally) with corresponding local policing plans which will reflect policing needs on the ground.
On track The 2014-15 national targets for the BTP are:
• Reduce crime by 4% on last year’s figures • Reduce police-related delay by 6% • Non-suspicious fatalities to be cleared in 90 minutes
• Average partial re-opening time to be no more than 45 minutes on four-track lines • Spend at least 60% of budget on frontline resources
• Less than 7.3 days per employee off sick • Achieve passenger confidence rating of at least 77.5%
BTPA, which celebrates its ten year anniversary in July, commended the force on successfully reducing crime on the railways year-on-year. Passenger confidence continues to rise since the authority was set up in 2004.
BTP carried out a number of successful operations last year (2013-14)
including
those that supported targets around reducing disruption on the railway lines, a key measure of the forces performance.
Operation Avert was set up in response to a spike in the number of fatalities over a four month period.
The force stepped up patrols at 75 locations across the country and increased their work with local services to provide support for vulnerable people, to minimise trespass incidents and suicide attempts on the railway.
The operation was highly successful, partly Strategic aims
The authority’s National and Local plans feed into the authority’s wider strategic aims to:
• Help keep rail transport systems running
• Help make rail transport systems safer and more secure
• Deliver value for money through continuous improvement
• Promote confidence in the use of rail transport systems.
owing to the increased engagement activity with local services and train operators to provide support for vulnerable people within hotspot areas – resulting in a reverse in the trend.
Acting Chief Constable Paul Crowther said: “As a police force we are always looking at how we might better meet the needs of the industry and the travelling public. Last year, we piloted two approaches to fatalities and disruption to see how we might create a more effective response.
“By working with stakeholders and targeting intervention at vulnerable people, with support from the appropriate health authorities, Op Avert was very successful at reducing the number of fatalities. This new approach will continue in 2014-15.
“In addition, we have looked at how we might reduce the impact fatalities have on delays on the network, whilst ensuring we can carry
out our investigations
sensitively. The partial re-openings of track,
where possible, has successfully
reduced delay minutes to the industry and the impact on passengers. This approach has enabled BTP to continue to carry out our work
sensitively and appropriately, but
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