Scottish Area February 2016 Issue 1 Page 2 Edinburgh NPT Scotland Facebook Page now live Officer attends Chanukah celebration at Merkinch Community Centre Kirkcaldy NPT Transport Minister Visits Scotland Page 3 Hearts and BTP link up to keep kids on the right track Operation Quest Meet the team! Crime Prevention Awareness Day Page 4 Text 61016 PACT Meeting at Bathgate Our Stirling Campaign Aberdeen NPT Dundee NPT Page 5 Stirling NPT Raza Sadiq, Award Winner Anti-Social Behaviour at Hamilton Central Crackdown on crime at Helensburgh Railway Station Page 6 You told us what matters to you DCC launches new Stop and Search Video Transport Minister, Derek MacKay MSP spent the morning of 8 th January with BTP officers and staff in Scotland. Mr MacKay s first stop was Glasgow Central Station where he spoke to officers and learned about Operation Wiggins, the BTP anti-cycle theft initiative. He then moved on to Divisional Headquarters where he received a number of presentations illustrating the work of D Division in relation to Suicide Prevention & Mental Health, policing football and the CCTV Unit. Later in the visit he met with the Chief Constable and Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent McBride. Chief Superintendent McBride said: I would like to thank everyone who helped organise and participate in an extremely successful morning aimed at raising the Minister s awareness of the specialist nature of our work, our unique understanding of the operating context of the railway and our bespoke planning to minimise disruption and inconvenience. Feedback has been Mr Mackay was extremely impressed by the staff he met and our professional approach to law and order and investigations. He most certainly left with a clear understanding of our value to the rail industry and how close partnership working benefits the travelling public.
Edinburgh NPT Sergeant Rennie and PC s Bonnar and Wheater from the Edinburgh Neighbourhood Policing Team took part in a crime prevention awareness raising event on the morning of Friday 11 th December 2015 at the impressive transport interchange in Galashiels. The event provided BTP with an excellent platform to engage with members of the public highlighting the importance of being alert when travelling on Borders Rail. Officers were able to raise the profile of BTP amongst passengers who are using the new rail service. Scotland Facebook page now live Officer attends Chanukah celebration at Merkinch Community Centre On 7 th December 2015 PC O Neill from Inverness NP team attended a Chanukah celebration at the Merkinch Community Centre in Inverness. This was an interesting evening during which PC O Neill learned a great deal about this important week which celebrates the Jewish people in the Holy Land reclaiming the Temple which had been desecrated by the invaders. On liberating the temple it required to be cleansed and they lit a Lamp fuelled by olive oil. The lamp, despite only having enough oil to burn for 1 day burned for 8 days and this festival commemorates the miracle. The evening included the lighting of the second candle (one candle is lit every evening of the festival) accompanied by prayers sang in Hebrew. There was a great spread of traditional Jewish food, PC O Neill s favourite was a Rosti/potato pancake called Latkes and being a police officer the doughnuts (Sufganyont) were obviously a big hit!! This was a great opportunity to build relationships within the small and under represented Jewish community that exists within the Highlands and Moray and a great opportunity to encourage reporting of hate crime in any form. BTP have a mission to ensure the travelling public get home safe, securely and on time every day. We will not tolerate behaviour where someone is targeted because they are different, whatever that difference is, and we would encourage anyone who is a victim of any type of crime to report it. Sadly some incidents of low level Ant-Semitism have become the norm for many within Jewish community in Scotland and all too often these incidents ca are shrugged off. We would encourage anyone who is a victim of or witness to any form of anti- Semitism to contact us and let us know. Kirkcaldy NPT BTP Scotland now has its own Facebook page. Please feel free to like and share the page to make others aware of this new online presence. It s easy to find by typing BTP Scotland into the find friends field. On 17 th November PC s Casey and Buchanan from the Kirkcaldy Neighbourhood Policing team met with Ian Bease, the Police Scotland Fife Area NHS liaison officer. The meeting was held at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy to discuss suicide prevention in the Fife area. Over the last year officers have held several meetings and are working closely with the NHS in order to help prevent suicide in the local area.
Hearts and BTP link up to keep kids on the right track In November 2015 PC Robertson from Edinburgh NP team carried out three joint visits to schools with Hearts football club in an effort to reduce trespassing on the railway line in Wester Hails. The visits followed a series of incidents on the railway involving primary school aged children in recent months. Network Rail funded a football rail safety programme which was delivered to pupils at Clovenstone, Canal View and Sighthill primary schools. PC Robertson delivered a rail safety message to approximately 1000 primary 1 to 7 pupils at school assemblies along with Alan White from Hearts Football Club. The joint approach was well received with the football staff and players taking an active role in the safety message. Meet the team! PC Fiona Macaulay joined the BTP in 2013 after previously working as a Civilian Investigative Assistant with Central Scotland Police. After working on a response shift in Edinburgh for two years Fiona wanted to take on a fresh challenge applying for a three month secondment to Stirling which was successful taking up the position in December 2015. Fiona has found working in the North sector extremely rewarding and challenging not least due to the geography of the area and the unpredictable winter weather conditions. During her first week in Stirling she detained a male who was in possession of a quantity of a controlled substance and related paraphernalia which resulted in one male being reported to the Procurator Fiscal for an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act. She is also currently investigating a number of other offences which will result in charges being preferred. In December 2015 Fiona was afforded the opportunity to participate in a joint festive partnership event, Safebase, between BTP, Police Scotland and the British Red Cross which was aimed at the prevention and detection of crime and ensuring that members of the public remained safe in the City centre at night. Fiona has thoroughly enjoyed her time at Stirling and looks forward to the remainder of her secondment. Crime Prevention Awareness Day Operation Quest Officers from the Dundee NP team were extremely busy in the run up to the festive period. PC s Dave McDonagh and Brian Gordon participated in Operation Quest, a joint exercise with Police Scotland to increase public reassurance during the busy festive season. On the 17 th of December officers made 7 positive searches for controlled drugs, and seized alcohol from four underage persons. Crucially, there were no incidents of violence or antisocial behaviour on one of the busiest nights of the season. In addition over 3,000 was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Officers from Edinburgh Neighbourhood Policing team took part in a Crime Prevention Awareness Day on Saturday 23 rd January at Haymarket Station. The joint venture with Police Scotland including their Youth Volunteers involved handing out leaflets relating to crime prevention with a focus on housebreaking and keeping personal property safe.
Our Stirling Campaign A scheme allowing passengers to report incidents on trains by text has been expanded by a national rail service. ScotRail are the first UK rail operator to advertise the BTP Text 61016 service in every carriage throughout their fleet. The text number allows passengers and staff to contact the BT discreetly about an issue that does not require an emergency response. Transport Minister Derek Mackay MSP joined BTP and ScotRail representatives at Waverley station to unveil the new stickers. Mr Mackay said: "Everyone who uses or works on our public transport network should be able to do so without fear of encountering violence or anti-social behaviour. "The Scottish Government is committed to addressing the issue of violence on our public transport network and I wholeheartedly support this innovative new BTP initiative. Officers from the Stirling Neighbourhood Policing team ended 2015 working alongside community police colleagues and Stirling Council as part of the Our Stirling campaign. Officers worked together and shared information to deter crime during the festive period, ensuring all revellers could enjoy the city safely. Aberdeen NPT "I congratulate ScotRail on their early adoption of it and I would encourage people to utilise the new service to help us create an even safer environment for all railway passengers." Chief Superintendent John McBride, from BTP, said: "Getting everyone who uses the rail network home safe, securely and on time every day remains our priority. Some train passengers may not feel comfortable approaching staff or a BTP officer to report an ongoing incident. Our unique texting service, 61016, is an innovative way of making police aware of a non-emergency incident which requires a response without drawing attention to them or putting them at risk." BTP remind the public to always call 999 in an emergency. PACT Meeting at Bathgate PC s Lee and Mclean from the Edinburgh Neighbourhood Policing team held a PACT Meeting at Bathgate booking office on Monday 14 th December. Two members of National Rail were present and no concerns were raised. On 28 th November 2015 PC s Pete McAndie and Mark Greenock along with Special PC s Connor Phillips and Mohammed Lunat met the Railway Chaplain. This meeting was to cover on-going issues in the North Sector and highlighting the support provided by the Railway Chaplain for the North Sector. Dundee NPT ScotRail have erected Railway Byelaw Signage at their staff car park within Dundee Railway Station. This move will enable BTP to enforce the Byelaws to reduce unauthorised parking which has become an issue making it difficult for staff to safely park their cars. Over the next few weeks BTP will work in partnership with ScotRail to ensure that the car park is used for staff parking only.
Stirling NPT Anti-Social Behaviour at Hamilton Central On the 6 th and 8 th January BTP ran a plain clothes exercise at Hamilton Central Station following reports from industry partners of anti-social behaviour by school pupils. As a result one male was charged with urinating and another male was reported for a byelaw offence for conducting himself in a disorderly manner. Arrangements are being made for school pupils at Hamilton Grammar to receive educational inputs on the impact of anti-social behaviour and rail safety. Stirling NP officers have been conducting extra patrols and community engagement in the Plean area following a rise in incidents of route crime and trespass during 2015. Working in partnership with Network Rail, Stirling NP officers identified vulnerable areas and conducted patrols in the area. Local schools were also visited to discuss the dangers of trespassing on the railway. Pictured are Special Police Constable Connor Kenny and Mobile Operations Manager Sandy Robertson inspecting a section of the track. Since the introduction of the plan incidents have dropped dramatically. Raza Sadiq, Award Winner Crackdown on crime at Helensburgh Railway Station A crackdown on anti-social behaviour was launched at Helensburgh Central rail station in January 2015 following complaints from staff and the public. BTP utilised a mobile metal detector and increased highvisibility patrols in and around Helensburgh station. This was in response to an increasing number of reports of disorder and anti-social behaviour by groups of youths who loiter around the transport hub. On the evening of Friday 15 th January nearly 50 people were scanned by the metal detector during Operation Shield - a BTP initiative aimed at reassuring rail passengers and staff. No arrests were made and no offensive weapons were recovered, however the high visibility operation was well received by public and councillors. Left to Right: Nigel Walker, Helen Grant MP, Jaguar Unsung Hero Award winner Raza Sadiq and Ashley Masefield Inspector Gary Brown, the officer with responsibility for the location said The initiative was well-received by members of the public and it is something we will repeat at Helensburgh and other stations in the area where youths are reported to be indulging in anti-social behaviour. We will continue to work closely with our rail industry colleagues and Police Scotland to ensure passengers and rail staff can use the rail network without encountering anti-social behaviour or disorder. Officers and Staff congratulate Raza Sadiq, one of BTP s independent advisers who won the Jaguar Unsung Hero Award at the British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSA). The Awards which took place on 6 February 2016 at JW Marriott Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London were attended by sport stars from across the country including Super-middleweight James DeGale, former England football international Sol Campbell and England International Eni Aluko. Raza was selected by a panel of expert judges including Rugby World Cup winner Maggie Alphonsi MBE, former West Bromwich Albion favourite Brendon Batson OBE and retired international athletes Derek Redmond and Jason Gardener MBE. Arun Kang, Chief Executive Officer of Sporting Equals who founded the British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards said: Raza truly deserves to be recognised for his decades of volunteer work helping BME communities in Glasgow. The Active Life Club is testament to his belief that sport can change people s lives and provide life skills for young people that will stand the test of time.
The results are in from our latest public consultation which asked you to tell us what policing priorities you want BTP to focus on. More than 6,000 people responded to the survey, which ran online and as a Freepost questionnaire handed out at stations and on trains in October and November 2015. The top three railway priorities chosen are: Tackling antisocial behaviour (chosen by 35.7% of respondents) Being more visible in the evening and late at night (chosen by 34.8% of respondents) Uniformed officers being more visible in general (chosen by 30% of respondents) These three priorities were also chosen by respondents to our 2014 consultation. This year, the majority of those questioned said two had been fully or partly addressed in the last year tackling antisocial behaviour and uniformed officers being more visible. They wanted to see more progress on uniformed BTP officers being more visible on the railway in the evening and late at night. Overall, respondents said they are satisfied with their personal security at their local station (71.1%) and three quarters said they have no cause to worry about this at their local station. Find out what else the results reveal in the public consultation survey which can be found at http://www.btp.police.uk/pdf/public%20consultation %202015v4.pdf DCC launches new Stop and Search video The Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) Adrian Hanstock UK lead for Stock and Search launched BTP s new short animation on 26 th January, highlighting what the public should expect when they are stopped and searched. Speaking at a national Stop and Search conference, he told delegates that UK forces have dramatically reduced the number of searches they carry out (600,000 to 150,000 per year in London alone) following the creation of new guidance, a new Stop and Search definition and enhancing officers training. We are also getting more effective at choosing who to search with one in give searches, across UK, now resulting in an arrest. DCC Hanstock said: It is very encouraging to see that the situation is improving across the UK particularly as more than a third of BTP searches result in us finding something showing that we are focused on criminals and those who pose a risk to the travelling public. Meanwhile our new Stop and Search animation helps people to understand why we stop and search and what they should expect; giving them the confidence that we have got their best interests at heart which is so important for the public to trust us. To find out more about our Stop and Search approach, visit youtube at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tfzlnn0fgd4&sns=tw Thanks you to everyone who took part. Your feedback will be used to inform the policing plans for 2016/17.