CRIME DOWN, BUT ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR STILL A CHALLENGE SAYS CHIEF CONSTABLE

With crime down for the fifth year running and the detection rate up, British Transport Police's annual report published today reflects a successful year on the rail network.

But there is no room for complacency says newly appointed Chief Constable, Andy Trotter.

'We have made real progress and achieved a great deal, however, significant challenges remain, particularly in the areas of improving passenger and staff confidence, and combating anti-social behaviour.

'Within the rail industry, we are operating in a very difficult economic climate and the need for us to make the very best of the resources we have has never been so urgent. We are going to have to deliver an even better service, achieve even better results, with our resources very constrained. It's not going to be easy, but we will be doing our utmost to drive down costs and work in a smarter, more efficient way.'

Mr Trotter was speaking following publication of BTP's 2008/09 annual report which shows crime down 4.5% on Britain's railways building on an 11% decrease the previous year.

'Anti-social behaviour has an adverse affect on people's journeys and the working environment for rail staff,' said Mr Trotter. 'It's unacceptable and it is one of my priorities for us to crack down on this sort of offending.'

A good deal of anti-social behaviour is associated with a minority of football fans, who continue to cause problems whilst travelling. In 2008/09 BTP recorded the highest ever number of arrests for football related offences, 838, up from 601 the previous year.

'Last year was remarkably successful for us,' said Mr Trotter. 'Crime was down again and detections up. These excellent results are a tribute to everyone in BTP who has worked so hard, including my predecessor, Sir Ian Johnston. They are also the result of some real and meaningful partnership working with Network Rail, Transport for London and the train and freight operators.

'The railways are rich in CCTV. Every day these cameras are helping us solve crime and identify criminals. Over the past year we have had tremendous co-operation from local media outlets around Britain in running appeals and publishing pictures and that has been a big factor in improving our detection rate and bringing more criminals to justice. It is good news for local communities which both BTP and the local media serve, and it should act as a warning to criminals.'

In the report, Mr Trotter emphasizes the increasing role of neighbourhood policing in promoting passenger and staff confidence and in developing community intelligence. More than fifty Neighbourhood Policing Teams are now operating across the rail network.

'The information people give us is potentially very powerful,' he says. 'It can help us disrupt and prevent crime and address problems quickly.'

Key points from the annual report:

♦ Crime down 4.5% nationally

♦ 2,716 more crimes detected in 2008/09 (up over 14%)

♦ Violence down 2.4%, robbery down 15.7%

♦ Eighteen out of 22 national Policing Plan targets achieved

♦ More than 50 Neighbourhood Policing Teams now operating across the network

♦ Graffiti down 17% and more court success against vandals

♦ Theft of live cable offences down 18%

♦ Level crossing incidents a growing hazard - misuse up 20%