Agenda item

The report invites the Panel to hear from British Transport Police (BTP) on the work they do in protecting the public and staff on our trains and rail stations.

The Panel will receive a presentation on our local BTP Neighbourhood Policing Team based in Bath Spa rail station and, hear about how they reduced an overall 43% reduction in reported crime and anti-social behaviour since 2009 for Bath and North East Somerset. 

The Panel will be invited to an open question and answer session at the end of the presentation.

The Panel are asked:

1.  To note the Community Safety Partnership work with BTP, First Great Western and Network Rail and to raise questions in relation to the reduction of crime and anti-social behaviour for Bath and North East Somerset.

2.  To note future challenges on our local rail stations, to include Keynsham and Oldfield Park.

3.  To assist with future BTP community safety campaigns and identify where further support can be generated by the council and other agencies. 

4.  To make any recommendations to Cabinet or Responsible Authorities Group.

The Chairman invited David Redgewell to address the Panel with his statement in advance of the presentation on the British Transport Police (BTP).

David Redgewell raised three points in his statement. 

• The on-going issues with the Anti-Social Behaviour at the Oldfield Park Station, in particular on the graffiti problems and spray on the network rail property.  The introduction of the community safety cameras is one of the ways forward to resolve these issues, something that could also be introduced on some other smaller train stations in the area.
• ‘Access for all’ initiative – hope to secure some money from the Western Riverside project towards Oldfield Park station.
• A plea for more BTP officers in the area, in particular for the North Somerset line.

The Chairman invited Chief Inspector Paul Richards (BTP’s Sector Commander for the South West) to give his presentation to the Panel.

Chief Inspector Richards highlighted the following points in his presentation:

• BTP history
• Rail crime history
• 7/7 London bombings of 2005
• 2012 Olympics in London
• About the BTP
• Aims
• Local BTP Neighbourhood Policing team
• Local area
• How are BTP doing – statistics
• Leaflets, social media, information for the public, new text number and other ways to contact the BTP
• Trespass and Cable Theft
• Anti-Social Behaviour Order – ASBO
• Work with Samaritans and other organisations/partners

A full copy of the presentation is available as Appendix 2 to these minutes.

The Panel made the following points:

The Chairman said it is good to see that robbery is down 80% and that route crime is down 71% and asked how that matches with metal thefts.

Chief Inspector Richards responded that route crime includes a tremendous amount of other issues such as trespass, obstructions, etc. and has a much wider remit than cable theft. 

The Chairman asked how we compare with other countries; number of officers in Bath; and if the BTP got involved in the Alcohol Harm review.

Chief Inspector Richards responded that he was not sure if there were any comparisons with other countries.  The reason for that is, for example, some countries have different laws/views on trespassing.  Chief Inspector Richards also said that there are two officers and six community support officers present in Bath – this was allocated in conjunction with First Great Western.  Chief Inspector Richards concluded by saying that the BTP would get involved in the Alcohol Harm review via Avon and Somerset Police.

The Panel asked about the work in relation to stopping the graffiti along the railway lines.

Chief Inspector Richards responded that the BTP works closely with Network Rail who have their Community Safety Manager picking up on these particular issues.  Chief Inspector Richards said that often these offences are very difficult to detect and asked everyone who witness these offences to report them to the BTP or Network Rail.

Chief Inspector Richards also invited everyone to attend the next BTP PACT meeting at the Royal Hotel, Bath, on 10^th December at 10:30am and communicate any issues, local or wider, to the officers.

The Panel asked how many officers are in each area.

Chief Inspector Richards responded that his area was going through restructuring at the moment though he was hoping to get additional staff as an investment in Swindon.  This is significant because of the way the South West network is set up.  There is a significant number of staff in Bristol and some staff in Bath and Chief Inspector Richards was hoping to get a sergeant and up to eight officers which should co-ordinate the BTP response more effectively.

The Panel asked about the work between the BTP and other organisations in order to prevent suicides.

Chief Inspector Richards responded that it is exceptionally difficult to deal with these tragic events.  It is about balancing the needs of the family of the deceased whilst minimising disruption to the rail network.  Chief Inspector Richards said that this is also about educating officers to work together with the Samaritans on dealing with these sensitive issues. 

The Panel asked how many offences are from repeat offenders.

Chief Inspector Richards responded that he had no figures in front of him though he would not think it was a tremendous amount of repeat offenders according to the statistics in the presentation.

The Panel asked if travelling without a ticket was a crime and, if so, whether it was included in the BTP statistics.

Chief Inspector Richards responded that ticketless travel is not the same offence like theft etc.  If someone travelled without a valid ticket and could not give a valid reason why they did that then it could be prosecuted and it would be part of crime statistics.

The Panel asked about the target response time.

Chief Inspector Richards responded that the BTP does have response time. 

It was RESOLVED to:

1. Note the Community Safety Partnership work with BTP, First Great Western and Network Rail.

2. Note future challenges on our local rail stations, to include Keynsham and Oldfield Park.

3. Welcome the presentation by Chief Inspector Paul Richards; and

4.  Note that the next BTP PACT meeting is on 10^th December 2013 at 10:30am in the Royal Hotel, Bath.