Rail Security team's "year of progress"
A ground-breaking South West Trains community security team is already seeing positive results just a year after the introduction of the £1.8 million investment.
Since the initiative was introduced in July 2008, South West Trains has recruited a team of 40 Rail Community Officers (RCOs) to patrol the network.
In partnership with the British Transport Police (BTP), the team has adopted a policy of increased policing activity and a zero tolerance approach towards crime and anti-social behaviour on the South West Trains network.
Greater detection of weapons, drugs and travel fraud offences, which would otherwise have gone undetected, has followed an increased number of police operations conducted on the network.
Scores of people have been reported for prosecution for non payment of fares and other railway byelaw offences over the past year. The RCOs and BTP have also participated in crime prevention roadshows aimed at reducing motor vehicle and cycle crime and they have assisted in the delivery of a number of major events.
The most high-profile achievements by the RCOs in their first year have included:
identifying a man on board a train in the Southampton area who was wanted by the BTP for previous sexual offences
preventing a woman from taking her own life at Petersfield
assisting in a successful overnight operation to catch a prolific gang of ticket vending machine thieves
helping the BTP in arresting a known ticket vending machine vandal
working with the BTP to clamp down on regular level crossing and foot crossing abuse at hotspots including Feltham, Wareham and Cosham
South West Trains’ Head of Security and Crime Prevention, Stuart Giddings, said: “It has been a positive year and we are pleased with the progress made by the RCOs. But we are under no illusion that there is still more work to be done. We will continue to work hard together with the British Transport Police to protect the security of our network. Our partnership with the BTP continues to grow stronger.”
The RCOs are based at Raynes Park, Richmond, Staines, Guildford, Portsmouth, Southampton and Bournemouth. They work side by side with British Transport Police in providing a high-profile, uniformed presence for passengers and staff on board trains and at stations.
In addition, each RCO has the power to:
issue British Transport Police penalty notices for trespass, graffiti and other public order offences
seize alcohol and tobacco from those underage
report individuals for railway byelaw offences, including antisocial behaviour
The RCOs are supported by nine BTP officers funded by South West Trains. A further six BTP officers, funded by Transport for London, have recently been added to the London part of the network. This is in addition to the regular BTP coverage of the South West Trains network, which costs around £11.7million a year.