Transport for LondonExtra PCSOs being deployed to 21 boroughs
This initiative is a good example of the close working relationship across the agencies that are tackling crime and disorder
Speaking today at the launch of a new safer transport staff initiative, the Mayor today outlined where an additional 375 Police Community Support Officers for London's transport network would be deployed across London.
Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police Service will be deploying up to 18 new Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) to each of the 21 outer London boroughs between February and July 2007.
The boroughs that will have these teams, known as Safer Transport Teams are Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston-upon-Thames, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond-upon-Thames, Sutton and Waltham Forest.
Funding, announced by the Mayor of London last month, has been agreed for the next two years.
The Safer Transport Teams will be deployed to areas where patterns of antisocial behaviour have been identified by intelligence gathered by TfL, the MPS Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU) and the British Transport Police (BTP).
Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, said: "London is one of the safest capital cities in the world, but we cannot be complacent. There are still too many places areas where people do not feel secure.
"Having an increased visible policing presence on our transport network not only reassures passengers and staff but sends out a clear message that criminal and antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated."
Jeroen Weimar, TfL's Director of Transport Policing and Enforcement, said: "This initiative is a good example of the close working relationship across the agencies that are tackling crime and disorder, as well as the fear of crime, on and around London's transport network.
"We will be using intelligence which is gathered on a daily basis to help us target local hotspots of antisocial behaviour around the Capital, and the increased visibility policing should provide welcome reassurance to passengers as they travel outside Central London."
Chief Supt Steve Bloomfield, the head of the Metropolitan Police Service's Safer Neighbourhoods, said: "I am delighted that this partnership approach is enabling us to extend the principles of Safer Neighbourhoods to parts of London's transport networks where patterns of anti-social behaviour have been identified.
"The Safer Transport Police and Community Safety Officers will deal with local issues on the transport networks, working alongside colleagues from Safer Neighbourhood Teams, Transport for London and British Transport Police.
"We hope that this initiative will increase the public's confidence and safety as people travel across London to carry out their daily business."
Len Duvall, Chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said: "The MPA is pleased that by working together we can achieve real benefits for London's communities and send out a clear message that anti-social behaviour is not acceptable.
"The introduction of extra Safer Transport Teams, deployed where they are most needed to offer reassurance and support to travellers, will make London's transport network safer for everyone."
The likely locations of the Safer Transport Teams include transport interchanges, bus stations and schools and the teams will provide visibility and reassurance in London's outer boroughs focusing on low-level crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour.
- The first wave of PCSO deployments will be to the southeast region in February 2007 - Bexley, Bromley, Croydon and Greenwich
- The second wave will be deployed to the northeast region in April 2007 - Barking and Dagenham, Enfield, Haringey, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Waltham Forest
- The third wave will be deployed to the southwest region in June 2007 - Hounslow, Kingston-upon-Thames, Merton, Richmond-upon-Thames and Sutton
- The final deployment will be to the northwest region in July 2007 - Barnet, Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon and Ealing
- The new Police Community Support Officers will be part-funded by the Home Office as part of the National Reassurance Programme. TfL will provide £7.5m for 375 officers for 2007/08 and 2008/09
- The new teams would be attached to MPS Borough Operational Command Units (BOCUs) with the MPS providing day-to-day supervision and management
- TfL has a unique partnership with the Metropolitan Police Service's Transport Operational Command Unit which it funds, at a cost of around £70m a year, and which has over 1,200 uniformed officers dedicated to the bus network
- Since the end of 2005, all of London's 8,000 buses have been fitted with fully recording CCTV - there are now between 55,000 and 60,000 cameras fitted on the fleet. In additional there are over 6,000 CCTV cameras on the Underground network - increasing to 12,000 by 2010
- Policing on the Underground is the responsibility of the British Transport Police
