BTP helps Conwy Valley Line celebrate historic milestone

Wales and Western BTP staff distributed leaflets and information to about 150 members of the public who converged on Dolwyddelan station, in Gwynnedd, on Wednesday 22 July to help a historic Welsh line celebrate a major milestone.

Bill Rogerson, BTP’s Community Partnership Coordinator, and Welsh-speaking PCSO Carys Ainscough, from Bangor, staffed a BTP exhibition stand and offered advice on topics such as level crossing safety during the Conwy Valley Railway line’s 130^th anniversary celebrations.

The event to celebrate the history of the line between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog was held inside a marquee because of heavy rain on the day.

Bill said: “This was an ideal opportunity for BTP to link into the local community and to raise our already high profile and esteem a little higher.

“The station adopters at Dolwyddelan and the other stations on the line do a great job in keeping the stations looking neat and tidy and being an extra set of eyes and ears for the force by reporting any suspicious activity, even though crime incidents on the line are very low.”  

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Changes to counter terrorism strategy

From Monday, 27 July, BTP’s counter terrorism strategy is changing as Operation Pegasus takes over from Operation Alert.

Operation Pegasus is BTP’s Counter Terrorism Strategy and sets out a revised patrol strategy and other tactics formerly included in Operation Alert.  But it also includes a great deal more and has been drawn up to align BTP’s activity with the Government’s long term CT strategy, known as “CONTEST”.

“Officers will be fully briefed on the changes as part of the normal tasking process,” commented ACC Alan Pacey.  “This is essentially a change of emphasis, with CT activity being fully integrated into all police activity and Areas having more flexibility about when and where deployments are made.

“Having said that, there is still a national framework and Pegasus includes a list of Standing Requirements.”

Under Pegasus, Neighbourhood Policing Teams and local officers have an enhanced role in building links with communities, gathering community intelligence and so helping to disrupt terrorists who may be preparing attacks.

Pegasus emphasises positive patrol activity, with officers being CT aware in everything they are doing.  The Standing Requirements included in the strategy cover the availability of levels of command and specialist resources, such as search teams, 24 hours a day.

Powers given by Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 remain one strand of BTP’s counter terrorism tactics.

“It’s important that officers make sure they are fully briefed on the latest Section 44 guidance and the criteria for when the power should be used,” says Chief Inspector Chris Dreyfus from the Counter Terrorism Support Unit.  “The quality of stops is the most important element and each one is an opportunity to engage with and reassure the public.”

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Chance to donate Attendance Reward vouchers to charity

Last year, all BTP officers and support staff who went 12 months without any sickness were awarded £50 of vouchers to be spent on a catalogue supplied by the area.

A number of those who received the vouchers supplied them to a charity pot organised by CID staff at Bristol Temple Meads station who used them to supply St Peter’s Hospice with £1,200 worth of goods to kit out a new hospice in Bristol.

This year, Bristol CID is again coordinating a similar initiative with the charity benefactor this time being the Hope House Hospice at Oswestry, between Wrexham and Shrewsbury.

Anyone who would like to donate their Attendance Reward points to the cause should contact DC Steve Eyers or DC Danny Murphy at Bristol CID on 0117 934 8585.

Further information about the charity is available at their website, www.hopehouse.org.uk.

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BTP gives rail staff Major Incident training

Detective Inspector Mick Southerton, of Bristol CID, and Colin Bryan, BTP’s Contingency Planning Officer for the Wales and South West sectors, visited travel giant First Group’s offices in Plymouth to brief call centre staff on how to deal with major incidents.

Mick and Colin hosted two Major Incident Awareness Training sessions on 17 June for staff at First’s Plymouth HQ.

They included presentations covering major railway incidents from the first response through to the investigation process, as well as showing how a multi-agency approach to such incidents is adopted.

Colin said: “A table-top model was used to display some of the logistical problems first responders’ encounter at scenes and to give the call centre staff an insight on what happens at the scene of a major incident and how it is all managed.”

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WW Weekly is the news update for BTP WW Area. It is sent out to all WW Area officers and staff every Friday. If you have a story you think should appear here, email Brian Price, Media and Marketing Manager, at [email protected]. Copyright © 2009 British Transport Police.