Knife Crime - Home Affairs Committee Contents


Memorandum submitted by the British Transport Police Strategic Development Department

INTRODUCTION

  British Transport Police (BTP) is the dedicated, specialist police force for the railways. It functions like other police forces with similar units, however, the environment and crime mix dealt with is unique. Policing a transient population and undertaking major crime and other investigations presents challenges. An intimate understanding of the physical complexities of the rail environment is vital: its unseen dangers, how it operates, and how the public behaves in these surroundings. The railway network is made up of 10,000 miles of track, 2,500 stations and there are over 2 billion passenger journeys per year across England, Wales and Scotland. BTP polices inter-city, cross-country, suburban and rural services, the London Underground, light rail (trams) and international services through the Channel tunnel.

  BTPs ongoing mission is to ensure that passengers, rail staff, operators and infrastructure owners can all use the railways free from crime and the fear of crime. BTP works within the national policing context and the priorities set by the governments and executives in Westminster, Edinburgh and Cardiff. The Force makes an important contribution to national objectives, but, in line with the strategic direction set by the Department for Transport, is increasingly focusing on the specific needs of the rail system and strengthening those partnerships. Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs) are deployed at local level, backed by a national, specialist organisation that is a world leader in railway policing.

KNIFE AND WEAPON ENABLED CRIME ON THE RAIL NETWORK

  The railways are not immune from national and local trends in the communities they serve, and violent crime continues to be a concern in 21st century Britain. The Governments Community Safety Objective (PSA 23) Priority Action 1 is to reduce the most serious violence. Passenger groups identify assaults as an area that needs high prioritisation by this Force.[9] Combating weapon enabled crime has two themes. Firstly the processing of offender from weapon enabled offences (assault and robbery). This follows standard practice for the investigation of volume crime. The second strand is proactive policing and includes the deployment of Operation SHIELD knife detection arches, and more recently the improved use of Section 60 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 searches at key locations. Recovery of weapons as a result of these tactics continues to increase with a projected 2008-09 performance year increase of 33.1% (1228 incidents) for BTP. Weapon enabled crime continues to decline across the Force and is expected to fall by 12.1% (520 offences) by the end of the Force performance year.

  Youth disorder continues to be of concern to the public, fuelled in part by the high profile persistent youth offending receives in the media. Future challenges for policing surround high visibility offending (such as underage binge drinking in public), anti-social behaviour and high harm/profile offending such as gang-related violence with the use of knives and guns. The Mayor of London, has agreed to provide funding for 50 extra BTP officers to help tackle these crimes.

  High profile fatal stabbings, particularly in Greater London have raised public awareness of the UK's growing knife culture. On 4 July 2008 the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Deputy Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has said that knife crime is now the number one priority for the MPS. BTP, utilising Operation SHIELD, is working in conjunction with the MPS under Operation Blunt 2, to undertake stop-and-search operations across the capital.

  From February 2006, with the inception of Operation SHIELD, until October 2007, the incidents of "knife enabled crime" showed a steady decrease (Appendix A). Since this time the Force has experienced a general upward trend, peaking in May 2008 with 172 offences. The widespread roll-out of new Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPT), and the development of existing NPT resources over the last 12 months, focussing on anti-social behaviour and low level crimes affecting the local community, has had an impact on detecting this type of crime. The impact of NPT's has been to increase detected crime in the short term, with a longer term reduction.

  BTP Chief Constable, Ian Johnston, and the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken MacDonald, signed a National Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) covering England and Wales on knife crime in May 2008. The MOU commits the BTP to exercising a "positive arrest policy where people are found with knives or bladed instruments without lawful excuse".

  Violent assaults perpetrated by youths has steadily declined since April 2006, with youths aged between 15-18 years comprising the bulk of offenders, with BTP London Areas incurring the highest incidence of youth crime suspects Force wide. The Operation SHIELD deployments have identified an increase in the number of youths carrying knives for self protection. Anti-social behaviour or "unwanted behaviour" by youths is predominant crime concern expressed by passengers and train operating companies (TOCs). The majority of offences are carried out by youths (predominantly male youths between the ages of 14-18) at the end of the school day (1,400 hours onwards). This type of behaviour leads to high perceptions of fear of intimidation from staff and passengers, increases passenger dissatisfaction and drives verbal abuse and physical assaults against staff and passengers.

  Overall, Forcewide notifiable offences look set to rise this performance year, mainly through increases in drug offences and attempted theft from ticket machines. The drug offences are entirely the product of increased search as a by-product of the proactive policing attack on knife crime and anti-social behaviour.

  While there is an emphasis on the deployment and use of search arches, this is by no means the only tactic used by BTP in the reduction and detection of weapon enabled crime on the railway network. Increased levels of funding achieved by the BTPA since July 2004 has seen the number of BTP officers increase by 25% and the arrival of over 260 police community support officers (PCSOs). This increase in resources has enabled the introduction of high visibility policing NPT's at identified hotspots across the network which, initial evaluation has shown, has proved successful in reducing all types of crime and anti-social behaviour, providing more reassurance to the rail community.

  Recent developments in CCTV have proved invaluable to BTP in relation to achieving successful convictions of offenders. The ability to publish good quality images from incidents on trains and platforms is proving vital in identifying and bringing offenders to justice. BTP is currently working nationally with the rail industry to drive forward national minimum standards for CCTV equipment installed on trains and across the network to ensure that maximum benefit is gained from investment into new digital systems.

  Behavioural Assessment Screening System (BASS) training is one of the more recent initiatives being rolled out in BTP. BASS is a system whereby officers are trained to identify suspects through indicators such as behaviours, body language, expressions and signs of deception, amongst other things which may indicate involvement in terrorism or other criminality. This is important as more knives are recovered as a result of observing the behaviour of people who approach the knife arches, than through those who actually pass through the arches and are scanned with metal detectors.

OPERATION SHIELD

  Following the high profile murder of 31-year-old lawyer, Thomas Rhys Pryce in Willesden, London on Thursday 12 January 2006, BTP carried out a profile of knifepoint robberies to ascertain the seriousness of knife-related violence in the London area. The result was a detailed analysis of robberies across London in which offenders used a knife in order to hurt, intimidate and threaten their victims between 1 July 2005 and 31 December 2005. The analysis identified that knifepoint robberies peaked mid-week on a Wednesday and Thursday and that peak times for offending was between 1500 and 1659 hours as well as between 2100 and 0059 hours. 75.5% of offenders committing robberies at knifepoint were aged between 13 and 25, with the peak age being between 16 and 21 years.

  Operation SHIELD was set up in January 2006 to tackle the knife carrying culture identified on the rail transport network. Walk through metal detectors (WTMD) were deployed at train stations across London over eight weeks which were identified through intelligence as hotspots for knifepoint offending. The aim of the Operation was set out as:

    —  to identify and apprehend offenders carrying offensive weapons on the rail network;

    —  to reduce knife-related offending on the rail network in London; and

    —  to reassure commuters using the rail network in London.

  Deployments were staffed by BTP officers, with assistance from the City of London Police (CoLP), Revenue Protection Inspectors (RPI) from TOCs and specialist drugs dogs. Hand held metal detecting scanners were also deployed for use by officers.

  During the eight week period 9,643 persons passed through the WTMDs and 1,148 persons were stopped. 105 persons were arrested which represents 9% of all persons stopped and 1% of all persons who passed through the WTMD. Just over half (51%) were arrested for possessing offensive weapons or bladed articles including knives, samurai swords, truncheons, hammers and CS Gas Canisters. An additional 15% (16 persons) were arrested for drug related offences and 11% for theft. The remaining 23% were arrested for being wanted on warrant, fare evasion, going equipped, handling, possession of stolen property, possessing prohibited articles, public order offences, non-payment of fines, immigration or robbery.

  287 persons who were stopped had initially turned away from the WTMD or evaded police and 23 of these were arrested—11 of these were arrested for possessing a weapon. 5% of all persons stopped did not have a ticket for travel.

  Following the success of this original Operation, BTP procured and deployed knife arches across all of its geographic policing areas and Operation SHIELD is now mainstreamed as an effective tool in BTP's strategy for tackling knife and weapon enabled crime on the rail network. A more recent example of its effective use was the 2008 Notting Hill Carnival where over 750 BTP officers were deployed each day. The policing operation focused not only the carnival, but sought to deter and disrupt potential gangs and trouble makers travelling to carnival. Six Operation SHIELD teams and three mobile Intervention teams were deployed outside the carnival area supported by MPS Firearms teams. A Section 60 Search Authority was in force for both days, and over 3,000 searches were carried out. 49 arrests were made over the two days for offences ranging from drugs supply, public order and possession of knives. A firearm was also recovered. Other arrests included possession of CS spray, robbery and money laundering. In addition to these arrests, over 100 cannabis warnings were issued this year. This compares to a total of 32 arrests in 2007. Hand held devices were used to excellent effect this year allowing officers to process offenders and utilise street bail where appropriate avoiding long delays processing prisoners for minor offences in custody centres. Figure 1 details the use of section 60 powers used by officers.

Figure 1
2008 2007
Sunday 24 August559 Sunday 26 August94
Monday 25 August629 Monday 27 August597


  Since the inception of Operation SHIELD in February 2006 the incidence of knife enabled crime has shown a steady decrease in the Greater London Area. It is very likely the reductions in offending are in part attributable to the visible presence of officers and WTMDs, which act to deter knife carrying and reassure commuters, and additionally in the high number of arrests which have succeeded in removing offenders from the rail network. Incidents/crimes where persons are found in possession of an offensive weapon are increasing, however this can be attributed to current operations and increased awareness of the knife carrying culture, prompting officers to more regularly search suspicious persons.

ISSUES

  1.  Whilst the detection and deterrent value of "knife arches" has a proven track record, an increasing reliance on the use of knife arches as part of an overall policing strategy to reduce instances of knife crime has caused a number of practical and theoretical issues to emerge as a result of procedural and legislative oversight governing their operational use.

    (i) Prohibition of voluntary searches—Paragraph 1.5. of Code A of the Codes of Practice prohibits what might best be called voluntary searches. In effect a suspect may not be searched, even where consent is provided in an absence of "reasonable suspicion"; a procedural stumbling block to the unfettered use of "knife arches" and similar mechanisms. An exception to the procedural prohibition on the conduct of voluntary searches however is where submission to examination is a condition of entry to a named premises of specific location. In relation to policing the railways, one option may be to have as a condition of carriage, when people purchase a ticket that they agree to being searched.

    (ii) Definition of "Knife Arch" Process—in relation to the definitional merits of an examination by "knife arch" recent legal opinion states that such an undertaking would be viewed by the courts as amounting to an "electronic scan" rather than a search as defined by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. So by definition a "knife arch" examination would fall outside the procedural prohibition on the conduct of voluntary searches; in effect a person may submit to examination by "knife arch" in an absence of reasonable suspicion. That said those volunteers who subsequently activate the "knife arch" mechanism may only be searched where "reasonable suspicion" is present.

    (iii) Section 60 Stop and Search Orders—Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (as amended) allows a police inspector, in anticipation of violence or large scale disorder, to authorise the imposition of a dedicated stop and search regime, the exercise of which is not reliant upon the prior existence of reasonable suspicion. As a mechanism for enforcing compliance with a "Knife Arch" regime Section 60 stop and search procedures are without parallel; being the preferred option of the MPS when conducting "knife arch" operations within a given "public space". Such authorisations are of course dependant however upon justifiable anticipation of acts of violence or other large scale disorder.

  2.  Within BTP jurisdiction is St Pancras International Station, passengers entering the station to board international trains are screened as they would be at an airport. Of concern is the number of weapons discovered in the possession of people who are about to leave the country. The types of weapons range from small pocket knives to large hunting knives, CS spray, flick knives and coshes. BTP recorded 54 crimes for possession of offensive weapons at Waterloo International in 2007-08 compared to 261 in 2006-07. 55 offences for possession of offensive weapons were recorded at St Pancras International.

  The majority of these offenders have previously entered the country via a port and have brought with them the weapon and therefore had it in their possession for an extended period of time on the streets of the UK. In some instances visitors from abroad mistakenly believe they are permitted to carry weapons. Clearly there is a need to take advantage of international partnerships to work in cooperation with the UK to communicate the strong anti-weapon stance that the UK takes. In BTP's recent experience efforts to encourage transport carriers, or indeed border agencies, to publicise the fact that possession of weapons or bladed articles is prohibited has not met with huge success.

  One solution might be an awareness campaign by carriers and travel agents together with amnesty bins at ports of entry—this would reduce the number of weapons being carried on the UK streets.

APPENDIX






9   Passenger Focus (National passenger Survey Autumn 2007). Back


 
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