Written evidence from Transport for London (SOR0005)

1. Introduction

1.1.             Transport for London’s (TfL’s) rail and Underground system is a safe, low crime environment. Our rail-based services comprise London Underground (LU), London Overground (LO), Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and Tramlink. Over four million passenger journeys take place on these services each day, with very few ever experiencing or witnessing crime.

1.2.             Crime on these services is at its lowest level in over nine years and is continuing to fall. Confidence and perceptions of safety and security have also improved over this period. These improvements reflect the work done by us and our policing partner, the British Transport Police (BTP). Our significant investment in transport policing and the commitment to improving transport safety and security and transport infrastructure has ensured that our services operate in a safe and low crime environment.

1.3.             We are a key funder of the BTP, currently contributing approximately £75m or 26 per cent of the BTP’s overall 2012/13 budget of £287.5m. This includes direct contributions for LU, plus those made by our operators for LO, DLR and Tramlink.
 

2. Recent trends in crime and perceptions of crime on the railway

2.1.             Our transport system is experiencing historically low levels of crime despite significant increases in passenger journeys. Sustained improvements have been seen in the rate of crime per million passenger journeys for our networks since 2004/5, when pan-network crime recording began. The rate of crime for each network (LU, LO, DLR, Tramlink, and London’s buses) is now at its lowest level in over nine years. In 2012/13, there were just 9.4 crimes per million passenger journeys on our rail-based system.[1] Crime figures from the BTP for our rail system for 2013/14 year to date are showing further reductions in absolute crime levels of around 20 per cent year on year. The rate of crime per million passenger journeys has fallen by around 16 per cent over the same period.

2.2.             We publish transport crime figures relating to our networks online. Annual and quarterly crime statistics can be found at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/19385.aspx.

2.3.             Further detailed information on crime and perception is included as an appendix.

3. What steps are train operators and Network Rail taking to reduce crime and perceptions of crime?

3.1              LU, the DLR and Tramlink are fully integrated railways.   On the former, nearly all the track, trains, stations, civil engineering and signals infrastructure is owned and operated by the company.  DLR assets are also owned by us. On the London Overground network, we award a management concession to the operator, while we maintain and manage some of the infrastructure directly and Network Rail manages the rest.

Our customer research shows that well-maintained rolling stock and stations, CCTV cameras and the presence of uniformed transport staff, providing clear and reliable service information and alternatives, can all help to reassure passengers. We have been very successful in improving railway station security over a number of years through enhancements in the physical environment (modernised stations, lighting, CCTV) and management of stations (customer service, uniformed staff patrols and Help Points).

3.2              Alongside our police partners, we undertake a number of activities to further reduce crime and improve perceptions of safety and security including:

1. Investment in transport policing (visible and accessible policing) – We invest over £70m per annum for enhanced policing on our rail system. Extra support at hubs and on operations comes from additional TfL investment in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and City of London Police;
2. Targeted and intelligence-led enforcement – including ticketing enforcement using our own revenue control staff, who work closely with BTP officers;
3. Visible staffing at stations, with every LU and LO station staffed and visible staff on all DLR trains from first train until last. Recent proposals will improve this further, by moving staff out of back offices, control rooms and ticket offices, and positioning more visible staff in the public areas of stations – by ticket machines, on concourses and at greater levels on some platforms;
4. An extensive recorded CCTV network with over 13,000 cameras on the LU network alone;
5. Infrastructure improvements including improvements in station design, provision of more Help Points, and better lighting and signage;
6. Marketing, education and engagement activities to help passengers make informed, safer travel choices, and to raise awareness of the effect of inconsiderate and antisocial behaviour on others;
7. Communication strategies to reassure the travelling public that the transport system is a safe, low-crime environment;
8. Improving channels for customers to report issues or concerns;
9. Banning the consumption of alcohol on our services.

              3.3              One of the most important contributory factors to reductions in crime and antisocial behaviour on LU and our other rail systems has been the introduction of local, visible and accountable policing. The BTP has organised its officers into neighbourhood policing teams on LU, DLR and LO networks. These teams provide a highly visible police presence and are responsible for a specific geographic location. The officers engage with the local transport community including customers and staff to identify priorities. The neighbourhood policing teams, funded by us, have made a significant contribution to overall reductions in crime and have had a positive effect on the travelling experience of Londoners.

3.4              Furthermore, we adopt a problem-oriented and preventative approach to crime and antisocial behaviour reduction. This draws on crime reduction theories such as ‘broken windows’, situational crime prevention, evidence-led policing and problem solving to inform our safety and security activities.

4. The role of the British Transport Police in reducing crime, including whether BTP’s current strategic plan is sufficiently challenging and whether the BTP has sufficient resources to deliver the plan

4.1.             The BTP plays a fundamental role in reducing crime on LU and other TfL rail services. It provides a comprehensive policing service, comprising ‘core’ and ‘enhanced’ policing activities, including: command and control, response, operations and the policing of events, reassurance and neighbourhood policing, crime investigation, community safety and crime reduction. We currently directly fund 958 officers (including 133 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs)) to carry out these duties. In addition our operators – London Overground Rail Operations Ltd (LO), Serco (DLR) and Tram Operations Ltd (Tramlink) – have separate agreements with the BTP Authority (BTPA) for core policing.

4.2.             The BTPA has a well-developed process for engaging the industry on the development on its strategic, national and local annual plans and associated targets. We welcome this transparent consultative process and continue to play a full part in it.

4.3.             The current strategic plan targets are a direct response to this consultation process: reducing crime by 20 per cent; reducing disruption by 20 per cent, and improving passenger perception by 10 per cent – all by 2019, from a 2013 base. Coming after several years of crime reduction and improvements in perception, and at a time of increasing passenger numbers in London, they are challenging targets that reflect the priorities and aspirations of TfL and those of other industry stakeholders. 

4.4.             We continue to commit to significant investment in enhanced BTP policing, beyond the core provision, to ensure ongoing effectiveness. One of the main drivers of the BTPA restructuring currently underway is to enable sufficient resources, deployed in the right locations and with optimal organisation, to achieve these ambitious strategic targets at a time of growth in transport services.

5. Relationships between BTP and train operators and Network Rail, and BTP’s accountability to DfT and to Parliament

5.1.             Throughout LU, our other rail modes and their operators at both operational and strategic levels there are excellent working relationships with the BTP. These have built up over many years of joint operation and there is clear understanding and recognition of our business and priorities. Formal governance structures are in place that provide a framework for this relationship: Police Support Agreements (PSAs) are in place with ourselves and our operators; a formal strategic level meeting structure exists; and a senior TfL representative sits as a member of the BTPA.

5.2.             At the strategic level, the Managing Director of London Underground and London Rail, together with his senior managers, meets regularly with the Chairman and Chief Executive of the BTP, and with the Chief Constable of the BTP.  Both our organisations combine in joint performance management processes and meetings. Operational views also play a full part in the BTP’s tasking considerations, the development of problem-solving priorities and at joint meetings on specific subjects, such as infrastructure security, and tackling graffiti and cable theft.

5.3.             Of vital importance are the many daily interactions at other levels in the organisation, including between our staff and BTP officers at stations and on trains. We have deliberately co-located BTP operational command with our main Tube network control centre.

5.4.             The BTP appears to have a strong relationship with the DfT, underpinned by the statutory framework provided by the Rail and Transport Safety Act 2003. When negotiating our PSA recently, the BTPA ensured that the views of the DfT were included and addressed fully. The Secretary of State also has a statutory role in resolving any disputes under the PSA, although none have occurred since the first PSA was signed in 2002.

6. Collaboration and partnership working between BTP and other police forces and the Home Office

6.1.             The BTP has a strong partnership with the MPS. The organisations work collaboratively on shared priorities at both a strategic and operational level. Positive collaboration has arisen through partnership projects such as Project Guardian - a two year initiative currently running to tackle unwanted sexual behaviour on our public transport system and Project Spiderweb - a one year theft reduction initiative that ran in 2011/12 and achieved its stated objective of a ten per cent reduction in theft of passenger property offences on the transport system.

6.2.             Nonetheless, the benefits of the BTP’s specialist role supporting rail operations and attending incidents become apparent when – on occasion – action by MPS officers at the scene of incidents or pursuing suspects into stations has resulted in unnecessary disruption to rail or Underground services. BTP officers’ specialist training, knowledge and experience of our rail operating environment helps avoid or minimise such disruption.

6.3.             Additionally, notwithstanding existing collaboration between the BTP and MPS, we would like to work further with both forces to improve their integrated working at some hub locations.

6.4.             The BTP is a key member of the London Transport Community Safety Partnership (LTCSP).  This is organised by TfL and is made up of a number of organisations – including the MPS and the City of London Police – which are working together to make journeys within London safer and more reliable. The partnership leads on delivering the Mayor of London's strategy to improve transport safety and security in London. The strategy, ‘The Right Direction’, sets out how we, other transport operators and London's policing agencies can make the best use of resources, work collaboratively and focus efforts on shared priorities to deliver further improvements for transport safety, security and reliability in London.

March 2014
APPENDIX – DETAILED CRIME AND PERECPTION INFORMATION

1. In 2012/13, the crime rate on the LU and DLR networks policed by the BTP’s L Area was 9.6 crimes per million passenger journeys, down from 18.4 in 2005/6 when crime was at its highest level (a 46 per cent improvement). TfL’s current Business Plan targets a further reduction to 8.2 crimes per million passenger journeys by 2014/15.
2. The volume of crime has fallen by 32 per cent (6,080 fewer offences) since 2005/6. Particular success includes reductions in theft of railway property (down 79 per cent, 1,019 fewer offences), robbery (down 80 per cent, 405 fewer offences), criminal damage (down 68 per cent, 1,340 fewer offences) and violence against the person (down 32 per cent, 899 fewer offences).
3. This downward trend continues in 2013/14.  There is evidence that the recent problem of cable theft is being tackled effectively with no live cable theft offences yet to be recorded in the current year. One crime for which an increase is anticipated this year is sexual offences – due to proactive work under Project Guardian which has encouraged reporting. This is discussed further in paragraph 6.1 of the main paper.
4. Theft of passenger property is the highest volume crime on TfL’s public transport networks. It accounted for 57 per cent of crime on LU/DLR in 2012/13. Despite reductions in these offences over recent years, there was an increase in theft of passenger property in 2012/13. This was largely driven by an increase in organised thieves targeting the London transport system. TfL and the BTP have put measures in place that include the redeployment of officers to theft hotspots, a new crime reduction and awareness campaign, targeted police enforcement activity against organised thieves operating on the system such as Operation Magnum. This activity has seen a reduction in theft of passenger property offences of almost 28 per cent between April 2013 and January 2014 (1,706 fewer offences).
5. Crime on TfL’s London Overground service remains at a very low level despite a minor increase in the level of recorded crime in 2012/13.  This reflected a significant increase in passenger journeys of around 22 per cent and further expansion of the network and services during the year.  In 2012/13, there were just 6.7 crimes per million passenger journeys, making it one of the safest modes of travel in London. 
6. Crime on Tramlink is also extremely low. In 2012/13, there were a total of 361 offences for the whole year. This was 4.5 per cent lower than the previous year.
7. While the chance of becoming a victim of crime when travelling on TfL’s rail services is very low and decreasing, it is clear from research that fear of crime and antisocial behaviour continues to affect people’s willingness to travel and can affect their choice of transport mode. TfL monitors perceptions of safety and security and confidence to travel on its networks through surveys (regular monitoring and ad hoc in depth research).
8. Our Customer Satisfaction Surveys (CSS) for each network provide a key measure for monitoring trends across a number of key issues for customers including safety and security. Analysis of the CSS shows that safety and security is the third-largest driver of overall satisfaction. CSS scores for safety and security have seen significant improvements and are generally among the highest scoring CSS measures.
9. CSS safety and security scores for 2012/13 show an improving trend across LU, DLR, Overground and Tramlink when compared with the earliest available comparative data for each of these services (see table below). For DLR, the earliest available direct comparator is 2010/11 when a CSS based on the same methodology as the other services was started. Overall year to date scores in 2013/14 show a slight decrease compared to 2012/13 when historically high levels of satisfaction across many factors were recorded during and after the Olympic and Paralympic games. However, scores are still exceeding those of the year immediately preceding the Games (2011/12).
    

10. Separately, we also undertake a general survey of 1,000 Londoners per quarter (including non-passengers) of perceptions of crime and antisocial behaviour on the transport system across all modes, including London’s rail networks. This enables us to better understand and respond to concerns and perceptions of safety and security across the transport system. The key indicator used within the Mayor’s Transport Strategy of “the proportion of Londoners for whom concerns over crime / anti-social behaviour affects the frequency of their public transport use ‘a lot’” has shown significant improvement from 35 per cent in April 2008 to 24 per cent in January 2014. Within this a new indicator was introduced recently to distinguish between those with general non-specific worry and the proportion of Londoners who can specifically recall feeling worried about their personal security when using public transport in the last three months. This has shown similar improvement with 15 per cent recalling feeling worried in January 2014, an improvement from 21 per cent in November 2011.   
11. The research has shown that threatening behaviour and drunkenness are the behaviours most likely to cause worry amongst Londoners whilst travelling on public transport.
12. We are committed to improving the perceptions of safety and security on the transport system. Whilst there is little direct correlation between crime levels and perceptions, we recognise that efforts to prevent and further reduce crime on the transport system such as visible policing and effective police engagement with the public, accessible staff and well maintained infrastructure do contribute to improvements in perceptions and confidence in travelling in London. Ongoing research with our policing partners and academic institutions helps us to better understand and measure perceptions of safety and security and target our activities accordingly.

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