NEWS:     FOUR CHARGED IN MILTON KEYNES FOR CABLE THEFT

NOTICE:   IT SYSTEMS – UPDATE

Four Charged in Milton Keynes for Cable Theft

Four males from Derby have been charged with the attempted theft of railway cable in the Milton Keynes area. The suspects are due to appear in court at the end of May.

On Sunday 8 February Steven Fletcher, Danny Nicholls, Lee Bamford and Tom Ingram travelled down to Denby, close to Milton Keynes, and were in the process of removing cable from the tracks when they were disturbed by West Coast Mainline (WCML) officers. The officers were notified of the attempted theft after a member of the public phoned-in to report the incident.

WCML and BTP’s BG officers – based at Bletchley – proceeded to attend the crime scene, with additional assistance from local Thames Valley Police (TVP) officers and their dog unit. The four males were detained, arrested and the cable recovered was valued at £1000.

After initial interviews by both Operation Drum and Operation Globe officers – the four suspects were released on bail.

Operation Drum officers DC Gerry Griffin and PC Michael Hatcher continued the investigation. Through their enquiries, Hatcher and Griffin found that two of the suspects had been found previously in possession of bolt cutters, without a legitimate explanation, by TVP – but were released without charge. In addition, Griffin and Hatcher produced mobile phone evidence of text messages that indicated that the suspects were planning to commit criminal activities on the railways.

Subsequently, the suspects were charged with the attempted theft of railway cable and will shortly be appearing in court.

PC Hatcher said: “This area has been the subject of various cable thefts before the incident and since the arrest we have seen a considerable drop in the number reported to us.

“Due to the combined efforts of all the officers involved we have managed to charge and bring a team of cable thieves before the courts.”

“Cable theft is a significant problem on the railways and Operation Drum will continue to investigate and help prosecute those that commit criminal activities on the railway,” added PC Hatcher.

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IT Systems – update

In recent times there have been a number of on-going issues with the general performance of the IT Systems. These are common concerns and it is a recognised problem relating to the Data Communications capacity at Force HQ Camden.

Upgrades to the communications infrastructure are due to take place by 23 June. When these changes have been made – we expect there to be a significant improvement to the overall speed and performance of the IT systems.

Superintendent Paul Brogden said: “The problems with the IT System have been raised to ACC level and significant work will take place to improve the situation.

“Thank you for your patience and please be assured that we are working hard to get this issues sorted out.”

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Making travel safer team reach the finals

On Monday 11 May, the Making Travel Safer team, based at Colchester, attended the IFSEC Security Industry Awards – the Oscars of the security world - in Birmingham as finalists in the ‘Policing Partnership of the Year’ category.

The team has been in operation for over a year now and was recognised as one of the best partnership approaches for safety on the railways. On the night the award went to the DLR team – who have been in operation for a longer time in comparison to the Making Travel Safer team.

The team is made up of Aragorn Davies and Thomas Dool, security personnel, Darren Williams, Revenue Inspector for NXEA and Sgt Stephen Woods, who co-ordinates the team’s activities.

Sgt Woods said: “I am extremely proud of the team and their nomination at the IFSEC Security awards. We were also nominated finalists at the HSBC Business Awards.

“It would have been nice to have come home as winners. But I think we have made tremendous progress in a short amount of time and it was great to be recognised by the security industry.”

Sgt Woods said that the team works extremely hard to create a safe environment for BTP’s industry colleagues and rail passengers.

“We hope to use our successful model by lending our advice and experience to the new Mayoral-funded NPT teams. The Making Travel Safer model can only grow and used in other situations providing many benefits to the rail community,” added Sgt Woods.

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HR Annual Targets

Linda Scott, BTP’s Human Resources Director, has praised the Area for its hard work and support in achieving the Force’s sick absence target between 2008/09. This target applied to, and thus, achieved by all police officers, police staff and PCSOs.

Linda was so impressed with the Area’s results that she plans to identify the activities and best practices employed on the Area – so that she can share our good practice with other areas on the Force.

Area Commander Mark Newton said: “I was extremely pleased that we passed the sickness absence target in the first place. But Linda Scott’s comments reaffirms that this was a commendable achievement and will be used as an example of best practice.

“I hope that in the year to come, we can maintain our high standards and meet the sickness absence target once again.”

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Police Vehicle Collisions Guidance

The Police vehicle collision guidance (PVCG) SOP has been published for additional advice and guidance for officers on how to deal with police vehicle collisions. The shorter document will save officers having to refer to the larger driving SOP for information.

Driving Standards Officer, Inspector Mark Hook said: “If officers follow the PVCG guidelines it will ensure that as an Area we will be able to effectively investigate a collision and progress the repair of any of our vehicles that are involved.

“This is a handy guide and all officers who drive a vehicle should be well-versed in how to respond to a police vehicle collision.”

The PVCG document can be found by clicking here.

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Rail staff assaulted at Reading Station

On Friday 8 May 2009 – Andrew Rolfe appeared before Reading Magistrates Court having been charged with common assault on Mr Ian Caven, an FGW Train Manager. Rolfe was given a one year Community Sentence, an order to complete 160 hours unpaid work, pay £200 compensation and an additional £60 in costs.

A drunken Rolfe attempted to board a Reading to Paddington service train thinking that it was going to Swindon, on 21 February 2009. Caven who was stood in the doorway of one of the carriages, tried to explain to Rolfe that the train did not go to Swindon.

Rolfe’s response was to violently push the train manager in the chest, which caused Caven to fall to the ground. As Rolfe boarded the train, he proceeded to stamp on the train manager.

Inspector John Wolstenholme, who was off-duty at the time and on his way to work – asked rail staff why the train had been delayed. After being informed about the assault, Insp Wolstenholme arrested Rolfe and this led to him being charged with common assault.

At the conclusion of the hearing, PC Bob Maulini from staff assaults said, “This was a nasty assault upon the train manager who was traumatised by the incident. I am delighted that the magistrates have appreciated this, which is highlighted by their sentence.”

“Train staff should be able to carry-out their duties without the fear of being the victim of assault. BTP continues to work hard to eradicate staff assaults and improve the rail travelling experience for both rail staff and passengers alike.”

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Colchester: new contact numbers

BTP has a new base at Colchester Station. Please find below a list of useful contact numbers for the Colchester BTP Office

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Rugby Sevens tournament

The BTP is planning to field a team in the British Police sevens tournament to be held on 16 September 2009 at the Stourbridge Rugby Football Club, in the West Midlands

If you would like to take part, please let PC Nick Loader know as soon as possible – so that he can arrange travel and accommodation in sufficient time.

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LN Inside News – March 2009

Please note that the April publication of LN Inside News – a special review edition – is now available to view on the BTP website.

Please click here to view.

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LN Weekly – We want your opinions

Improving communications in BTP can help everyone do their job better.  The LN Weekly is an effective communications tool but we are always on the look-out for suggestions on how to improve the weekly email bulletin.

As such, we would like to hear your views on the LN Weekly. Please could you read the following questions and send your answers, via email, to Steven Fifer.

All answers will be treated in the strictest confidence and individual responses will not be made public.

1. (a) Do you read LN Weekly every week?

Yes                  No

(b) How much of it do you read?

All of it

Most of it

Some of it

None of it

2. (a) What do you think about the following statement – I feel the LN Weekly keeps me well informed about news, notices and changes on the Area

Strongly agree           agree              neutral             disagree         strongly disagree

(b) I feel LN Weekly addresses the issues I face at work

Strongly agree           agree              neutral             disagree         strongly disagree

3. Format/design

Is LN Weekly?

• Easy to read                                      Yes/No
• Interesting to look at                          Yes/No
• What do you think of the length        Too short / just right / too long
• What do you think of the size           Too small/ just right/ too big

4. What is your favourite type of article?

5. How do you think LN Weekly can be improved?

6. Please indicate which category applies to you:

I am:

Student Officer

PCSO

Constable

Special Constable

Sergeant

Inspector

Chief Inspector or above

Police Staff

Retired staff

I have been with BTP for:

0 – 2 years

2 – 5 years

5 – 10 years

Over 10 years

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