Birmingham Cross City NPT works closely with local school in Enterprise Week

An example of the close relationship Birmingham Cross City Neighbourhood Policing Team is developing with their local community involved them taking part in an Enterprise Week organised by Bournville School & Sixth Form College.

The Enterprise Week is an opportunity for year 10 students to develop their ideas and skills such as teamworking, leadership and personal responsibility which they may later use to help decide their future careers. This was an opportunity for the NPT to take part in helping educate the students regarding the safety on the railway.

The challenge to the students was to research and make a DVD about how to get a message across to young people between the ages of 11 and 16 years about the importance of railway safety. A trip was organised to visit Northfield railway station to allow the students to take video footage of the station and the environment in which the railway is situated.

The students were also able to interview London Midland rail staff, Network Rail engineers, train drivers, British Transport Police officers and Community Support Officers. Train operating company, London Midland, arranged  for the students to take a return train ride from Northfield to Redditch. Information gathered was used in their final presentation which was put together with the help of a local radio station that works closely with young people.

Off the Rails - A consequence to your actions

Cross City Neighbourhood Policing Team staged a  mocked up train crash in a bid to shock Birmingham youngsters to help deter them from committing crimes on the railways during the summer break. Stunned schoolchildren pupils watched as actors playing victims of the smash emerged from the realistic wreckage covered in fake blood, while fire-fighters dealt with the mock emergency.

The dramatic head-on smash at Long Marston, Warwickshire, was designed to present youngsters with a realistic portrayal that railway pranks could end in death and jail. The realistic scenario showed that vandals, played by actors, were playing on the railway kicking a ball and messing around with railway equipment, resulting in a trains breaks released and starts to roll towards a live track which commuters use on a daily basis. This was the first of its kind held in the UK.

The stark warning was part of a British Transport Police Neighbourhood  project to keep youngsters off the lines ahead of the summer holidays.The project was created in conjunction with the Cross City Line Neighbourhood Policing Team.Among the schools invited to the mock-up were St. Vincent's RC Primary School, in Duddeston, Colmers Farm School in Northfield,  Arthur Terry School in Mere Green Birmingham Netherstowe School in Lichfield and Turves Green School in Northfield,Traditionally, there is a rise in route crime, including young people trespassing, stone throwing and placing obstructions on the railway line during the holiday period

BTP team up with South West trains

BTP has teamed up with South West Trains to launch a £1.8 million project to provide an even safer railway for passengers.

The project involves the formation of Rail Community teams which will see specialist accredited rail staff working side-by-side police officers at dedicated stations on the South West Trains network.

A team of 40 accredited Rail Community Officers will be based across the South West Trains’ network at Raynes

• Issuing British Transport Police penalty notices for offences such as trespass and graffiti;
• The power to seize alcohol from underage drinkers
• Dealing with anti-social behaviour

The RCOs are the successors to South West Trains' award-winning TravelSafe Officers, which were the first of their kind in the country.