British Transport Police has launched a public consultation into the way crime is investigated on the nation’s rail network.
Proposals include a new way of prioritising crimes for investigation, the establishment of a national Major Serious and Organised Crime Unit and a national Sexual Offences Coordination Unit.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Newton, who has overseen the comprehensive review that led to the proposals, said, "For the past year, we have looked carefully into how we can ensure that we prevent and detect crime as effectively as possible.
“Our aim is that every victim of crime will receive the same quality of service - no matter where in they are in England, Scotland or Wales. We are asking the public for their views about how we can best organise and use our police officers and police staff to protect them, deliver a quality service for victims and witnesses of crime and bring offenders to justice.
“We want the right people, in the right place, at the right time and the flexibility to deliver the best possible service, now and in the future. The fact is crime on the rail network is low - but each crime means there is one victim too many. People deserve and expect the very best service and that is why we would like to invite them to have their say.”
The consultation document outlines in detail the proposals being made, including:
- A new way of deciding which police officers should investigate which crimes, based on the threat and harm the crime has caused and the complexity of the investigation required;
- The introduction of a Major Serious and Organised Crime unit - based in London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester - which will investigate the most serious offences, including sexual offences and serious workplace violence;
- An increase in the number of police officers dedicated to deterring and detecting sexual offences;
- Creating an enhanced approach to how we investigate sexual offences, including the establishment of a national Sexual Offences Coordination Unit;
- Certain crimes, such as sexual offences, being investigated by qualified investigators rather than frontline uniformed police officers;
- The introduction of teams dedicated to investigating crimes that happen more often than others, such as theft of passenger property, freeing up other police officers to deal with crimes that create the most harm.
ACC Newton continued: “One of the biggest challenges has been looking at how we investigate and prevent sexual offences on the network. Earlier this year, concerns were raised about a proposal to move officers from our London-based Sexual Offences Unit into a wider team. There was a perception that we were putting fewer resources and less effort into this area of work, when in fact we were actually proposing to put in more. Because this undermined everything we were trying to achieve, we carried out a review of the implications, to see whether the proposals were still valid in light of the feedback we received.
"As a result, we are proposing to introduce a national Sexual Offences Coordination Unit, which will oversee all activities to tackle sexual offences on the railway and direct the proposed investigative and proactive teams. We are also proposing that all sexual offences will be investigated by a new Major Serious and Organised Crime Unit or CID. We have never before asked the public to help shape the way we are policing to such a degree. But we are a public body and feel it is crucial for the public to have the chance to have their say on changes that will affect policing across the whole country. This is your chance to help shape the way public transport is policed and I urge you to take it.”
The public and informed groups are being asked to comment on the proposals. The consultation will run for eight weeks, closing on Wednesday 7 December at 5pm.
