Select Committee on Transport Written Evidence


Annex

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1.  INTRODUCTION

  The purpose of this annex is to provide the Transport Select Committee with evidence of the Authority's work in supporting the British Transport Police's work in addressing this important issue. This includes information on:

    —  The ways in which BTPA has set the Force's strategic direction to address concerns around personal safety on the rail network.

    —  How BTPA is directing the Force to target the causes of passengers concerns about personal safety by setting the appropriate policing plan targets.

    —  Where the Authority has invested in reassurance policing.

    —  How the Authority has contributed to developing partnership working with the industry.

    —  Details of the Authority's membership profile.

    —  How the Authority meets its statutory duty to consult with the travelling public.

2.  SETTING THE FORCE'S STRATEGIC DIRECTION

  The Authority is fully conscious of the importance of passenger safety and reassurance in all areas of the rail network and has reflected this in the aims and objectives it has set out in the Force's current three year Strategic Plan. Specifically, the Authority has set the following three year objectives[5]:

    —  Promote public safety and assurance by working in partnership with others to make the railway a safe environment for all.

    —  Reduce crime by working with our partners and our railway community to tackle the causes of crime, as well as dealing with crime incidents.

  Further, the Chair of the Police Authority, in his foreword to the three year Strategic Plan, has stated that:

    "We are committed to providing policing excellence for Britain's railways to help build a safe railway environment that is free from disruption and fear of crime. We believe we are well on the way to achieving this, and the actions described in this Strategic Plan will enable us to continue developing and delivering the effective modern policing that our communities demand and deserve. Much, however, depends upon continued support of our communities and strategic partners, with whom we intend to work even more closely than we have in the past[6]".

  The Strategic Plan also sets out the policing style that the Force will adopt over the three year period and this explicitly refers to the Force's role in "reducing crime, fear of crime and to provide reassurance . . . (and in) taking the lead in . . . dealing with low-level crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour, which is in line with the Government's drive to improve the quality of everyday life for all"[7].

3.  SETTING THE FORCE'S POLICING PLAN OBJECTIVES

  In achieving these wider strategic aims, the Authority has set the Force policing plan targets in 2005-06 and 2006-07 that specifically contribute to passenger (and rail staff) reassurance in all areas of the rail network, including railway stations. In 2006-07 these targets will include the following which are particularly relevant to the issue being investigated by the Select Committee[8]:

    —  Anti-social behaviour—increase number of offenders brought to justice to at least 13800 by 31 March 2007.

    —  Graffiti—increase number of detections to at least 750 by 31 March 2007.

    —  Theft of passenger property—5% reduction in offences by 31 March 2007.

    —  Staff assaults—increase detection rate to at least 46% by 31 March 2007.

    —  Robbery—to increase detection rate to at least 34% by 31 March 2007.

4.  INVESTMENTS IN REASSURANCE POLICING

  Increasing investment in reassurance policing has been a priority for both the Force, and the Authority since its creation in July 2004. The Authority has made the following specific investments in relation to reassurance policing:

    —  For 2005-06 the Authority approved various bids relating to counter terrorism and increased policing visibility such as Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), which totalled £2.05 million.

    —  For 2006-07 the Authority has approved £288k of investment for additional PCSOs for use in Wales.

5.  DEVELOPMENT OF A PARTNERSHIP WORKING APPROACH

  The Authority has been supportive of the Force's desire to enter into more partnership working with the industry, and other key, stakeholders. They have demonstrated this commitment by setting this out as a key objective within the current three year Strategic Plan (as detailed in section 2 above). In addition the Authority has also instructed the Force to progress work around developing jointly owned policing plan targets with industry partners[9], and the Authority expects to play a key role in any dialogue with the industry around meeting this objective. Clearly there is a need for a genuine commitment from the rail industry to be fully engaged in the process of developing partnership working in relation to personal security on all areas of the rail network. However, while the Authority does accept that there is significant scope for further development of a partnership approach to improving passenger security at railway stations, it believes that it is necessary to properly differentiate between security and criminal risks and to ensure that the Force plays an appropriate, but secondary, role in any activities which relate solely to security issues.

  If further investment in policing is required then the Authority is happy to take that decision, however it is crucial that this decision making is carried out in partnership with the industry. The Authority also feels that it is for Government to decide how to ensure that the various agencies engaged in these partnership arrangements deliver on the commitments they have made.

6.  AUTHORITY MEMBERSHIP

  The Authority membership brings together individuals representing a range of interests, including those of rail passengers, thus ensuring that the travelling public have a voice in the decisions that the Authority takes on their behalf. The required profile of British Transport Police Authority member is set out in the Railways, Transport and Safety Act 2003 as follows[10]:

    —  At least four members representing the interests of providers of railway services;

    —  At least four members representing the interests of persons travelling by rail;

    —  A person representing the interests of employees of the rail industry;

    —  A person nominated by the Strategic Rail Authority;

    —  A person representing the interests of Scotland and appointed following consultation with the Scottish Executive;

    —  A person representing the interests of Wales and appointed following consultation with the Welsh Assembly;

    —  A person representing the interests of England.

7.  A DUTY TO CONSULT WITH PASSENGERS

  As set out in part 3 of the Railways, Transport and Safety Act 2003, the Authority has a statutory duty to consult with (amongst others) (a) passengers on the railways (b) groups of persons representing passengers on the railways[11]. In meeting this duty, the Authority has sought to capture rail passengers' security and safety concerns by including questions on the spring wave of the National Passenger Survey, currently administered by Passenger Focus. These questions ask passengers to identify their own priorities for the Force's policing activities and are fed directly into the policing plan and budget setting process.

8.  CONCLUSIONS

  This memorandum has set out the ways in which the British Transport Police Authority has already demonstrated a commitment to improving personal passenger safety at railway stations through its work with the British Transport Police Force and industry partners, and will obviously continue to do so.

  Finally, we thank the Committee for the opportunity to put forward our views on this issue, and are happy to provide any additional documentation or comments which may be of assistance.












5   British Transport Police (2005) Strategic Plan 2005-08, p5. Back

6   British Transport Police (2005) Strategic Plan 2005-08, p7 Back

7   British Transport Police (2005) Strategic Plan 2005-08, p10. Back

8   British Transport Police (2006) Paper to the Police authority Meeting of 7 March, Agenda Item 8 "2006-07 policing plan targets". Back

9   British Transport Police (2006) Paper to the Police authority Meeting of 7 March, Agenda Item 8, Section 5, "2006-07 policing plan targets". Back

10   Railways, Transport and Safety Act 2003, Schedule 4, Part 1, Membership. London, HMSO. Back

11   Railways, Transport and Safety Act 2003, Part 3, Public Consultation. London, HMSO. Back


 
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