Line Downward crime trend continues

Transcription

1 The magazine of British Transport Police Issue 21 July / August 2012 the Line Downward crime trend continues Crime on Britain s railways is down almost a third over five years page 3 Delivering Olympic transport Mike Zaloga from the Olympic Delivery Authority reflects on one hell of a ride page 5

2 editorial Game on We have been planning for this for so long, since 2008 in fact, that the general mood in BTP now is, let s get on with it! The Olympics are finally upon us and we are ready and eager to help ensure they pass off smoothly and successfully. There are bound to be hiccoughs: at times rail networks will be operating beyond capacity and the smallest disruption to service will be magnified. We have been working, planning and exercising with rail operators to ensure that when those inevitable disruptions do occur, we can help deal with them even more expeditiously than we do normally. Enhanced resources are in place and we will be welcoming 350 officers from other forces to London to help police the network. 2011/12 was very successful for us with crime down for the eighth year in succession, all 11 of our national policing plan targets achieved as well as 43 out of 47 local targets. The public service is under considerable pressure and we have our own budget challenges to meet, but I think that if anyone wants to see the value of successful public services, they have only to look at us. BTP has a record of consistent achievement over an extended period, whilst achieving ever greater value for money. All the planning that has gone into the Olympics will have a sustained effect and will help us improve our service even more. This single biggest policing operation ever has made us look very critically at our processes and resource allocation and that will have benefits beyond the end of the Olympics and Paralympics. In this issue we look at some elements of improving our response, for instance to fatalities. However, this is not the end of the line and work on that will continue. First of all though, there are those Games. It will be hard work, but I wish everyone in BTP and in the rail industry, the very best in their endeavours. Chief Constable Andy Trotter 2 THE LINE THE MAGAZINE OF BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE in this issue page 4 Golden hour for fatalities page 8 New command centre for Birmingham partnership team page 10 Up and at em in Yorkshire news in brief Cable pair jailed Two Kent cable thieves who cost the railway 35,000 have been jailed for 20 months each. Steven Bryce and Robert Tinker pled guilty to conspiracy to steal cable. The two had worked together to steal cable around the Isle of Sheppey on 14 occasions between December 2010 and March 2011, netting almost 1.7km of telecommunications cable. Their conspiracy was foiled when Bryce was stopped by officers on a cable theft patrol. Volunteers to promote rail safety BTP is recruiting volunteers in a new scheme to spread the rail safety message in schools. the In partnership with Network Rail, volunteers are being sought to work with schools in Bangor, Croydon, Darlington, Exeter, Gloucester, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham, Plymouth, Reading, Shrewsbury, Swansea, Truro, and Woking. The Safety Reps Scheme aims to target primary school children with key safety advice. Volunteers will approach target schools with software materials providing comprehensive lesson plans on rail safety. They will also to give support and guidance in using the software and help with evaluation. At the same time, schools will appoint a small number of pupils to act as rail safety reps, helping other children in their class. Line For circulation/subscription enquiries contact: Media and Marketing British Transport Police Force Headquarters, 25 Camden Road London, NW1 9LN Editor Simon Lubin theline@btp.pnn.police.uk Telephone Crime continues to fall The long term downward trend in crime on the rail network continued for the eighth year in a row in 2011/12. Over five years crime is down almost a third. The headline rate for 2011/12 fell by 9.1%, including a 2.9% drop in violent crime, robberies down 9.6% and vandalism down almost 22% down. Theft of passengers property fell 10.4% and theft of railway property by 12.8%. Nine out of 12 crime groups showed reductions whilst three showed small increases. An extra 62 sexual offences across England, Wales and Scotland represented a 6.5% rise, while motor vehicle and cycle crime was up eight per cent and the Other Crimes category rose by 40 crimes or 4.8%. This has been a very successful year for BTP and the rail industry, said Chief Constable Andy Trotter. This sustained downward trend in crime is a tribute to the excellent partnerships we have with rail operators, who continue to invest in the security of their customers and staff. It also reflects the hard work of BTP staff across Britain at a time when we are demanding more and more from them as budgets decline. The crime figures were published as Secretary of State for Transport Justine Greening opened BTP s new London CCTV Hub (see page x), which is helping reduce crime further. Association of Train Operating Companies Chief Executive Michael Roberts said the results news in brief DNA traps cable thief A man, who stole 300 metres of cable, causing severe disruption between Cardiff and Rhymney, has been jailed for 18 months. Paul Jones was convicted after special DNA grease sprayed on the cable was discovered on his hands and clothing. He was caught having been Crimes on Britain s rail network, including London Underground 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10, / /08 were good news for passengers. Train companies take the safety and security of their passengers and staff extremely seriously which is why they spend millions of pounds installing more helps points at stations, providing funding for British Transport Police and improving CCTV on trains. These figures show that this hard work is paying off. In 2011/12, BTP also achieved all 11 of its 2008/09 flushed out of undergrowth by a police dog during covert observations. 117 ASB arrests in two days Police made 117 arrests in two days as part of a multi-agency operation targeting anti-social behaviour and robberies across London. For two days in May, Operation 2009/ / /12 national policing plan targets and 43 out of 47 local targets. National targets include reducing crime, disruption and anti-social behaviour whilst improving value for money. If anyone wants to see the value of successful public services, they have only to look at us. BTP has a record of consistent achievement over an extended period, whilst achieving ever greater value for money, said the Chief Constable. Emperor brought together 200 BTP, Met and City of London officers in a series of uniformed and plain clothes operations support by Transport for London. Arrests were made for drugs offences, fare evasion, disorder, criminal damage, metal theft and trespass. Emperor is part of a series of operations in the capital. ISSUE 21, JULY / AUGUST 2012 THE LINE 3

3 Golden hour actions can speed up fatality handling guest columnist The public transport games A new manual of guidance for dealing with fatalities gives officers more flexibility to speed up the resolution of unexplained fatalities. Fast track actions, including interviews, CCTV enquiries and a body search, can save vital time, capturing crucial information in the early stages of an incident. This is the golden hour principle, although we hope it will take a lot less than an hour, says Chief Inspector Tom Naughton. BTP has an excellent record of dealing with fatalities professionally and speedily. Almost all fatalities turn out to be nonsuspicious, even when they are initially unexplained for lack of evidence. This new proactive approach to initially unexplained deaths will help us provide a much slicker service, minimizing disruption to the network. Fatalities are a major cause of disruption to the railways and the new fatality guidance replaces a more prescriptive standard operating procedure. The guidance is just that and How rail deaths are classified Suspicious - where there is evidence or reasonable suspicion of an unlawful killing Non-suspicious - where there is readily available evidence that the death is not suspicious a suicide or an accident Unexplained - a fatality for which there is no immediate explanation or evidence Work-related deaths - a fatality resulting from an incident in connection with Work Sudden death death through natural causes encourages officers to be proactive in seeking answers right from the outset, says Tom Naughton. If you need to step outside the guidance to get the job done, you can and it incorporates the National Decision Making model, which gives officers a framework for recording the rationale for decisions. The guidance also strengthens incident command, ensuring there is an overview of resources and the wider impact the incident is having. New equipment, including digital cameras and body covers is also being rolled out as a further aid to officers. At Force Headquarters, we monitor all fatalities to see how they are dealt with and what lessons can be learned, says Tom Naughton. Dealing with a fatality can be a difficult, messy task often undertaken in challenging conditions. This new guidance aims to help officers achieve even better performance. Driving down the minutes - early success The combined average time for dealing with unexplained and non-suspicious fatalities is down by a third to 90 minutes - fatalities categorised as unexplained have been cut by almost half. Mike Zaloga is a transport man through and through having worked in both the bus and rail sectors for more than 20 years. As Railway Operations and Stations Planning Manager for the Olympic Delivery Authority, he is a key player in delivering rail transport for the London 2012 Games. By now, you should have heard. The Olympics are coming. In fact, the Olympics are here. Having spent almost five years with the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) just sitting here writing this in July 2012 provides an opportunity to reflect on what I can only describe as One hell of a ride! As a Londoner, I am proud to welcome the world to my doorstep: as a part of the team that did it, the grin on my face is huge. And I hope no one gets the chance to wipe that grin off my face. Despite the enormous amount of work that has taken place, all of us still need to be very much on the top of our game if we are still going to be smiling when the flags and the bunting come down as the last of the Paralympians head for home in September. If one thing has become very clear, it is the need for all our partners to be working together this summer to make London 2012 a success. LOCOG (the London Organising Committee) is responsible for putting on the show, the ODA has delivered the infrastructure, but it does not end there. It s not just LOCOG and the ODA that have had to work together. There are about 8 million tickets on sale to the public, roughly half a million seats each day, concentrated around the London area but we should not ignore the outer venues and the football grounds. Some events, like the cycling and foot road races are free there are no tickets, so people can just turn up. The London Games are widely billed as the public transport games and for sure, we have only provided parking at venues for blue badge ticket holders. The rest will use one of the many forms of public transport available and about 80% of these are expected to use rail. Add to that the workforce and volunteers to staff venues and you can add another ten percent to the numbers travelling by public transport. Fundamental is the need to maintain safety and security. Ever mindful of the fact that a problem in one place could cause severe disruption further down the line, BTP has taken a strong lead to make sure other agencies and operators are fully engaged in the process. We have had a tremendous amount of support from the rail industry, and frankly, I am incredibly pleased how well-organised, prepared and joined-up the railway has been. The focus has been on making the railway more reliable, enhancing operations and maintenance plans, finding the resources for extra services and higher levels of customer support. At some stations, operators are introducing active queue management and one way working to ensure safety and operations are maintained. Also, additional signage to preferred walking routes has gone up and we will operate additional services, longer trains off-peak and later trains to get home. NR and LU have suspended major engineering works and are providing faster incident response - none of these are coincidences. They are planned, agreed and delivered as part of a collaborative process involving many parties. We know the media love a good railway story so hold the front page for sport, not transport!...we have only provided parking at venues for blue badge ticket holders. The rest will use one of the many forms of public transport available and about 80% of these are expected to use rail 4 THE LINE THE MAGAZINE OF BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE ISSUE 21, JULY / AUGUST 2012 THE LINE 5

4 Speeding up victim identification it s very important for officers with these skills to keep them up to date, they could be needed at any moment, Bill Bryden, Head of BTP s Scenes of Crime Department. It s now ten years since the Potters Bar crash, but few have forgotten the image of the crashed train wedged under the station canopy. One of the issues to come out of that was the speed with which victims could be identified and since then a great deal of work has been going on in Britain and internationally to improve Disaster Victim Identification (DVI). BTP has this year held three body recovery/dvi exercises at Hornsey Depot to test new procedures and allow DVI trained officers to brush up on their skills. First Capital Connect engineering trainer Brian Morris facilitated the exercises at the depot, which also involved volunteers from the Casualties Union playing the part of dead bodies. The scenario tested was a train arriving into King s Cross from Peterborough with several passengers seemingly asleep, but in fact deceased. They probably died from carbon monoxide poisoning the train has been moved to the depot and vented and now it s up to the officers to do their stuff, said Bill. It s a realistic, real time test and we are very grateful to First Capital Connect for giving us the live facility at the depot. It has been invaluable as has the participation of members of the Casualties Union. DVI is now a two stage process. Before the body recovery team enters the train, a senior identification manager and crime scene examiner go in to assess the situation. They run a quick ID procedure, one of the innovations brought in following the Potters Bar crash. On one of the recent exercises seven out of nine of the bodies on the train were identified within 15 minutes in this way. The teams use recovery logs, in the form of an internationally recognized booklet that has a unique bar code and comes with stickers to attach to property found near the body. We are testing a range of skills for instance officers ability to record accurately where a body or body part is found and body mapping, detailing missing limbs, tattoos, scars etc. There are also forensic considerations to take into account: are there suspects amongst the injured and dead for example. As well as normal body recovery, the teams also practiced CBRN recovery, simulating the recovery of a contaminated body. BTP s body recovery team is made up of officers from different areas who come together when the need arises. They were first deployed in January 2009 following the light aircraft crash at Colwich Junction, Staffordshire. 6 THE LINE THE MAGAZINE OF BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE ISSUE 21, JULY / AUGUST 2012 THE LINE 7

5 New command centre for Birmingham Secretary of State for Transport Justine Greening joined BTP Chief Constable Andy Trotter at the official opening of a pioneering command centre for Birmingham s Safer Travel Partnership in May. The Command Centre is the headquarters for some 80 officers and staff from the Partnership, who have helped cut crime on the region s bus, rail and tram network by more than 65% in five years. The Safer Travel team brings together BTP, West Midlands Police, Centro and bus operator National Express (See The Line 19, December 2011). They work together staging hundreds of operations a year to deter and combat crime and anti-social behaviour. It is the first fully integrated team of its kind in Britain with BTP officers and those from a regional police force permanently based together. With Centro, they cover the region s entire public transport network. Opening the 1.2million Command Centre, the Secretary of State said: Crime on buses and trains is already falling but state of the art facilities like this will help to further increase safety on our public transport system. The excellent work being done here in the West Midlands shows what can be achieved when operators and the police work together. Equipped with the latest digital technology, staff can use 50 high definition screens to monitor images beamed live from more than 800 CCTV cameras. Speaking at the launch, Chief Constable Andy Trotter described the partnership as having real teeth. L-r: West Midlands Police Chief Constable Chris Sims, Secretary of State for Transport Justine Greening, Chief Constable Andy Trotter and Geoff Inskip, Chief Executive of Centro We re seeing crime coming down and we re working hard to bring it down even more by targeting anti-social behaviour (ASB). Centro s Vice Chairman, Cllr Jon Hunt, also focused on the partnership s work tackling ASB. The Safer Travel Partnership has been very successful and it s important to realise that crime on the network is now at a very low level, he said. Despite this success we know that anti-social behaviour remains an issue for some people and this new Command Centre will help us tackle that. The shared Command Centre is not only a crime fighting tool, but will save the Partnership more than 400,000 a year. Centro s Safer Travel Partnership Established in 2006, the partnership now includes transport authority Centro, West Midlands Police, British Transport Police, National Express West Midlands and the region s seven Community Safety Partnerships. BTP became involved in 2010 and the policing team became operational in August CASE STUDY Planning for the greatest show on earth What is the issue? The Olympics and Paralympics is the largest ever UK policing operation. There will around 10 million spectators over 31 days; most 80% travelling by rail. There are 34 venues, from the Olympic Park to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. An average of 500,000 spectators a day will attend events - on the busiest days up to 800,000. The sheer scale of the event, heightened security, the many cultural and parallel events taking place, the number of partners involved in delivering the Games around the country - plus taking care of business as usual it all adds up to a massive, complex policing task. What did BTP do? Planning for the Olympics and Paralympics began in 2008 when a dedicated Olympic project team was set up. Assistant Chief Constable Steve Thomas heads BTP s Olympic operations and has also been National Co-ordinator for Cross-modal Transport Security covering rail, road, maritime and air transport - a joint Department for Transport and Home Office appointment. The BTP project team has worked closely with the rail industry, the police service nationally, DfT, the Olympic Delivery Authority and LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) to ensure effective planning and coordination. The focus was to ensure a safe railway environment for participants, the Olympic family and work force, the travelling public, transport staff, BTP staff and staff from partner agencies. During the planning; the team was involved in securing resources, training, carrying out risk assessments, exercising, identifying costs and securing finance. In August 2010, Chief Inspector Jane Townsley joined the project to head up the move to the operational phase. What was the result? A comprehensive policing plan covering travel around all venues with the resources in place to sustain it. Training has taken place where needed, annual leave is severely restricted and several hundred mutual aid officers are being brought in to help police the rail network. Accommodation, equipment and logistics are in place and BTP will have full time liaison at a number of key points, including the National Olympic Coordination Centre, the Transport Coordination Centre and the OPTIC (Olympic Park Transport Integration Centre). BTP is fully integrated into the national policing operation which will involve some 9,500 police officers at peak times. A programme to upgrade Airwave radio coverage has been completed and ten additional explosives search dogs and their handlers are fully trained and operational. What next? The proof of the pudding the planning is now being put into practice. After the Olympics and Paralympics have finished, business as usual will resume. This must accommodate annual leave that could not be taken in the Olympic period, so considerable challenges remain. A series of debriefs will take place to evaluate the success of the operation, identify areas of improvement and review lessons learnt. The project will officially end in March Olympic and ParAlympic Games: did you know? Almost 100% of spectators will use public transport; 80% of them the rail network At least 13m additional journeys will be made via rail or Tube The Olympic Park itself has three gateway stations, 13 lines, with trains arriving every 13.8 seconds in the peak 8 THE LINE THE MAGAZINE OF BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE ISSUE 21, JULY / AUGUST 2012 THE LINE 9

6 London Hub is major advance in CCTV handling It s a 14 million investment that is helping bring more criminals to justice and saving hundreds of hours of police time. BTP s new London CCTV Hub gives access to 33,000 cameras belonging to Transport for London, Network Rail and 13 rail operators across London and the south east. As she officially opened the Hub in May, Secretary of State for Transport Justine Greening said: This is a wonderfully impressive facility. It joins up disparate CCTV systems so we are better able to tackle crime. We are now on the cusp of using this technology much more effectively. The Hub can download video and staff put together evidential packages and help identify suspects. They can also track individuals in real time if there is intelligence to suspect them. Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther described the facility as a step change in handling CCTV, an increasingly valuable crime fighting tool. We can now handle the many different systems and formats used by rail operators from a single hub, speeding up retrieval and processing of CCTV, saving police officer time and speeding up investigations, he said. Passenger and staff safety and security is London Underground s top priority. CCTV cameras are essential in helping maintain a low crime environment on the Tube network, said LU s Chief Operating Officer Howard Collins. The CCTV Hub and the 13,000 cameras on our network help combat crime and antisocial behaviour, give necessary reassurance to passengers and provide a real deterrent to those with intent on committing crimes. Specialist team scales the heights Ten officers from BTP s specialist Policing at Heights team a new team set up in the north to deal with searches and policing at a height, for instance on tops of buildings or trains - have been training in Yorkshire in the run up to the Olympics. The team used York Minster and on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway to hone their skills. This is the second team of its kind to be set up by BTP as Chief Inspector Ray Shields explained. BTP previously only had a Policing at Heights team based in London. Over the past few years, there have been a number of incidents in the north where the team have been required and were deployed from London, the most recent being the environmental protest at Drax power station. Then they had to remove safely a large number of protesters who had secured themselves on top of a freight train outside the station. Now a north-based team has been set up, and they have been training and gearing up to assisting in policing of the Olympics. They will be deployed to undertake a range of tasks where required including searching at heights, protester removal and flash advertising removal. The training they undertook in Yorkshire mirrors real life incidents which they are likely to face. It has given them a great opportunity to put their knowledge and specialist skills into action before they may be faced with the real thing in July. 60 second interview Chief Inspector Jane Townsley has been heading up Olympic Planning for BTP since August A member of the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) since 1996, she became its president in You ve been president of the IAWP since 2009; what does that role involve? Essentially raising awareness of the issues affecting women in the community and in the police; across the world. This involves campaigning and attending events to raise the profile of women in policing and the IAWP. Recently I met His Highness, the UAE Deputy Prime Minister at the Emirates Women Police Association Policing conference. I also take part in a mentoring initiative. One individual I mentored was a rookie when we first started working together - now she is the president of Kosovo! What is your most memorable achievement? As a member of IAWP Board of Directors, it was organising the 2005 IAWP annual training conference in Leeds, which was co-hosted by BTP and West Yorkshire Police. This saw over 500 women in policing from across the world come together and march through Leeds in full uniform for the opening ceremony. As President, it was taking our board meeting to South Africa in 2010; which made history. I ve always been keen to develop the international aspect of IAWP, as I believe it is often countries outside of the US, Canada and the UK that benefit most from being part of a global family. What have you most recently been involved in? The Board of Directors and I went to Abu Dhabi as guests of the Ministry of Interior to attend the first International Women Police Training Conference in the Gulf region. We then visited Bangladesh to attend Asia s first International Women Police Conference. On International Women s Day, we took part in a parade in Dhaka, Bangladesh to promote the role of women police. I also provided media interviews explaining our work and to highlight the plight of women in Bangladesh. Kicking trespass into touch Proud winners of the 2012 No Messin Railway Safety Cup are a group of talented young footballers from Swansea s Olchfa school. Winners Olchfa with (from left) PCSO Andy Rollingson, PCSO Roger Batcup and Mark Langman, Network Rail Route Managing Director The 5-a-side tournament, organised by British Transport Police (BTP), Network Rail and Arriva Trains Wales, saw more than 40 teams from schools across South Wales battle it out on the pitch. As part of the programme, Police Community Support Officers give each team a safety presentation that features young people and families who have been affected by rail trespass and its consequences. Inspector Gary Ash heads BTP s Welsh Neighbourhood Policing Teams. The Railway Safety Cup is now in its third year and the response from schools has been outstanding, he said. What do you find the most rewarding regarding your role with the IAWP? Being able to share my policing experience across the globe is very rewarding. It s humbling to see the difference the organisation can make by empowering women; within both the police and the community. My role with IAWP has exposed me to experiences and communities I would otherwise not have known; and I can bring this additional knowledge and experience to my BTP role. What s next for you and the IAWP? It s election year and I m planning to stand for a second term. If successful, I ll be pushing IAWP s message of support to police forces across the world. A special prize was presented to the school that scored the highest in a series of railway safety quizzes with Olchfa showing they ve got the brains to match their skills on the pitch by scooping top marks. They will now travel by train to Cardiff where they will get the chance to experience Arriva Trains Wales special train driving simulator. We know that boredom is often a big factor in kids decisions to mess around on the railway, putting their lives and the lives of others at risk, said Tracey Young, Network Rail community safety manager. It was fantastic to see youngsters so enthusiastic and excited about being given the chance to play in the finals of the No Messin Railway Safety Cup. Olchfa defeating Porth County from Rhondda Cynon Taff 6-5 in the final at Swansea s PlayFootball complex. 10 THE LINE THE MAGAZINE OF BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE ISSUE 21, JULY / AUGUST 2012 THE LINE 11

7 Off duty PCSO picks up national bravery award An off duty Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), who intervened in a vicious dog attack, has been awarded a silver medal at the 2012 Police Public Bravery Awards. Left to right: London South Inspector Gordon Tait, PCSO Stewart McKenna, Samantha Bryan and DCC Paul Crowther. It was during the evening of 1 March this year when Stewart McKenna saw a man being attacked by an American pit bull terrier. The dog, which had been roaming freely on Great Queen Street, Dartford, had already caused extensive injuries to the man s hands and arms. Acting with speed and a great deal High speed winners Prospects for the London North football team looked good in May as they took a 4-0 first leg lead into their second leg tie against Eurostar at East Ham Rugby club, reports Donal MacCraith. Confidence was high that for victory in the High-Speed 1 Trophy, but the Eurostar team had other ideas. The first few chances went to Eurostar, but they failed to score. Luckily, BTP London North didn t have the same problem and went into half-time with a 3-0 lead of courage, Stewart left his car and positioned himself between the man and the dog, saving him from any further injury. Struggling to restrain the dog, Stewart suffered severe injuries to his own hands and legs. After Kent Police officers arrived about twenty minutes later, the dog was tasered, thanks to goals from PC Jim McLean, PCSO Josh Leavett and PCSO Steven Leung. Eurostar came back after the break with an early goal and with both teams tiring, managed a second goal before the end. The game finished 3-2 and 7-2 on aggregate. After the game, Kevin Beauchamp, Director of Engineering and Assets at High-Speed 1, presented London North team captain PC Russ McPherson with the trophy. but that had little effect, and it had to be tasered twice more to end the attack. By the time the dog was restrained, Stewart had suffered 14 bites and was taken to hospital. He was off work for two months as a result of the attack. The dog s owner was later jailed for five months and the pit bull destroyed. Commenting on the sportsmanship shown by both teams, Kevin said: Although both teams wanted to win, after every tackle was made, there was a handshake of respect between the players. This sporting event highlights the excellent relationship between High-Speed 1, Eurostar and the British Transport Police at St. Pancras International. I have had a great afternoon and it was a pleasure to present this trophy. ISSUE 21, JULY / AUGUST 2012 the Line