Supplementary memorandum submitted by
Network Rail
Further to your request to Robin Gisby, Director
of Operations and Customer Services, please find below follow
up notes on a number of the questions raised by the committee.
In respect of: assaults on staff, action taken by the BTP in each
of these, and the role of CCTV in prosecutions, I am able to provide
the following information.
In respect of Q55, please be aware that the
BTP does not technically prosecute people itself, this is the
job of the Crown Prosecution Service. Therefore, they do
not have prosecution related data.
The BTP instead uses the term "detection",
which is where:
— A person has been charged or summonsed
for a crime.
— An offender has been cautioned or
given a final warning or reprimand.
— The offender admits the crime ands
asks for it to be taken into consideration by the court.
— No further action has been taken
by the police, which usually occurs if the offender is dead or
severely ill; or when an essential witness or victim is permanently
ill.
— A penalty notice for disorder has
been issued.
— A formal warning for cannabis possession
has been issued.
The following data is for the BTP force as a
whole (excluding LU) in order to provide you with a complete picture
of the overall level of violent crime on the railways.
| Force excluding LU
| | | |
|
| 2001-02 | 2002-03
| 2003-04 | 2004-05
| 2005-06 |
| Violence against the person | 4,737
| 5,776 | 6,432 | 7,126
| 7,348 |
| Sexual offences | 718 | 692
| 799 | 893 | 717
|
| Robbery offences | 2,625 |
1,769 | 2,088 | 1,724
| 1,692 |
| Total violent crime | 8,080 |
8,237 | 9,319 | 9,743
| 9,757 |
| | |
| | |
It is not possible to provide data as to how many people
have been prosecuted on the basis of CCTV evidence as the BTP
do not keep this type of data.
In respect of question 87, the following table shows overall
BTP detections for staff assaults (again, excluding LU):
| Detections for Staff Assaults (excluding LU Area)
|
| 2001-02 | 430 |
| 2002-03 | 526 |
| 2003-04 | 645 |
| 2004-05 | 779 |
| 2005-06 | 957 |
| |
Network Rail's own record of staff assaults for the last
full year (2005-06) was 162. Assault figures comprise two categories:
Verbal and Physical. Verbal abuse is any verbal statement that
the victim considers to be offensive, abusive or insulting, but
not accompanied by a threat of force, this includes anything of
a racial or sexual nature. Physical abuse includes both actual
physical contact and direct threats and gestures of violence,
including those with a weapon.
Due to a change in the categorisation of assaults in April
2005 which was accompanied by a campaign to encourage staff to
report more verbal assaults, there are no directly comparable
figures for previous years.
In respect of question 89; the overwhelming majority of assaults
on Network Rail staff occur at the stations we manage. At each
of these there is a safety action plan aimed at reducing the level
of assaults, this is backed up by training and information to
our employees, public campaigns and liaison with the BTP and community
support officers who have a high profile at each of these 17 large
stations. In addition, where the CPS does not bring a case forward
for prosecution and we feel that there may be an opportunity to
bring a private action, Network Rail will seriously consider doing
so on behalf of an employee.
With regards an overall target, the assault figures are monitored
and reported on at senior level: there is no specific target figure
for assaults on staff, rather the aim of Network Rail's efforts
is to drive the overall figure down.
I trust that the above information helps in the committee's
considerations on safety at stations. Should you have any further
questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
10 May 2006
|
