|
Concern about antisocial behaviour on buses led Lancashire County Council to set up the Safer Travel Unit in 2002. The aim of the Unit is to make bus journeys safer and more enjoyable for passengers and staff in Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen. The Unit works in a successful partnership with bus operators, the Police and schools.
Initially there were few established procedures. The Unit, now a team of six, has successfully developed innovative measures to reduce the number of incidents of antisocial behaviour, record the incidents that do occur and deal with offenders.
To learn more about the nature and number of incidents, the Unit has introduced reporting systems for bus operators, schools and passengers.
The Unit has introduced education for bus operators, pupils and staff, including a unique training scheme with the Crown Prosecution Service.
Interventions for miscreants include Warnings, Acceptable Behaviour Contracts and Exclusions.
 Operation Buswatch, implemented in partnership with bus operators and the Police, includes gateway checks on buses, swab testing kits for drivers and sharing information.
The Unit has introduced CCTV technology allowing staff to observe antisocial behaviour and address culprits directly. It processes digital information as evidence of misbehaviour.
The Unit uses publicity to deter misbehaviour and reassure the public.
The Unit is keen to share best practice. It is a founder member of the North West Travelsafe forum and helps to develop strategy and actions at regional and national level.
The Unit is making travel safer. Swab testing kits reduced spitting attacks by 86%. Over 2005/06 and 2006/07 the Unit improved reporting systems and at the same time reduced the number of incidents recorded. However, in 2007/08 the Unit deliberately promoted its reporting procedures to increase the number of incidents recorded. New initiatives in 2008/09 will record further incidents.
The Unit contributes to wider objectives too.
Background
Growing concern about antisocial behaviour on buses led Lancashire County Council to appoint Accrington and Rossendale College in 2001 to investigate the problem. Consultation with bus operators, parents, pupils, and schools and the Police revealed;
• 22% of children using school transport had suffered bullying or antisocial behaviour
• In 73% of cases there had been more than one incident
• 26% of parents and 46% of children had not reported the incidents
• 85% of schools had received reports of bullying or antisocial behaviour but only 5% had reported it to the County Council
• 75% of the operators who responded said more needed to be done to reduce antisocial behaviour.
As few established procedures existed, pilot projects were introduced to investigate how direct intervention could improve behaviour on buses, particularly school services. Projects on driver training, school education and policing proved successful and the Safer Travel Unit was established in 2002 to take the work forward.
The aim of the Unit is to make bus travel safe and enjoyable for passengers and staff.
The Unit is part of the Passenger Transport Unit and is funded jointly by the County Council, Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, with a further contribution from the Children’s Fund.
In 2008, an additional Support Officer brought the size of the Unit to six – the Manager, two Field Officers, two Support Officers and a Co-ordinator. This year, a Police Community Support Officer will work in the Unit too.
With its partners, the Unit has developed a range of innovative strategies and actions to reduce the number of incidents on buses, detect offences and take action against offenders.
The Unit works in partnership with bus operators, the Police and schools, and other partners on occasions. Bus operators commit to report all incidents of antisocial behaviour directly to the Unit and to deploy CCTV to act as a deterrent and provide evidence of misbehaviour. High Schools commit to work with the Unit to investigate each incident reported.
The partnership includes LAPTA, the Lancashire Area Public Transport Operators Association, and the Operator Working Group including bus drivers, trade union officials and senior management. The Operator Working Group reviews progress of the partnership with the Police and the Unit and proposes future initiatives.
Publicity through the media raises public awareness of the work of the Unit. Participation in regional and national working groups spreads best practice to other authorities.
Improvements Achieved and Challenges Overcome
 Incident Reporting
Reporting systems have increased our knowledge of the number and nature of incidents, enabling appropriate action to be taken. In 2002 the Unit introduced a Reporting Protocol for Incidents of Antisocial Behaviour for schools and bus operators together with a telephone reporting system.
In 2006 the Unit introduced a new on-line system FIRST (Fast Incident Reporting for Safer Travel). Records are accessible to all partners via MADE, the Multi Agency Data Exchange. A new ASBoB (AntiSocial Behaviour on Buses) phone hotline was also introduced, allowing drivers, pupils and the public to report incidents quickly.
Education and Training
The Unit has introduced education and training courses for bus operators, pupils and Unit staff.
 The Unit holds monthly ‘surgeries’ in staff rest areas of all major bus operators in Lancashire, often with members of neighbourhood policing teams. They give bus drivers feedback on reported incidents and provide individual advice and information.
In 2007 the Unit wrote a training course, now accredited by the Driving Standards Agency, and distributed 4,000 training DVDs to drivers, covering driving and customer skills.
In September 2007 bus supervisors shared experiences, ideas and intelligence with the Unit at a pilot seminar. Seminars will be rolled out across the county to ensure that supervisors are aware of strategy, show how they can offer support and achieve a consistent response to incidents.
In January 2008 local bus operators attended the seminar Securing a Safer Bus Network with the Unit and the Police.
"We have confidence that reported incidents are investigated thoroughly by the Safer Travel Unit and action taken. "
Director, Holmeswood Coaches
Field Officers deliver an education programme in High Schools. The course was refreshed in 2006 with new lesson plans and supporting materials to deliver Citizenship skills to pupils in Years 6, 7 and 10 and allow them to use public transport effectively, safely and responsibly.
"I found the sessions delivered to our Year 10 classes particularly useful. They were informative and interactive and gave a clear message surrounding the issues of using public transport. "
Darwen Vale High School
In 2006/7, 620 high-calibre students were trained as school bus prefects. They report incidents directly to schools and in return receive a certificate and free travel.
The Unit liaises with the Child Protection Team of the Children and Young People’s Directorate on allegations of inappropriate behaviour. A training session for all Unit staff in 2006 produced more consistent and effective working between the two services.
In September 2006, the Unit and the Crown Prosecution Service entered a unique partnership to teach children aged 14/15 how the Crown Prosecution Service deals with crime and antisocial behaviour and make them aware of the consequences of these acts.
Interventions
The Unit has developed interventions for pupils committing antisocial behaviour, ranging from written Warnings to Acceptable Behaviour Agreements and, ultimately, to Exclusion from school transport.
Where the Unit has identified cases of severe bullying, the actions to end it have brought an enormous improvement to the lives of victims.
Actions on Buses
 The Unit implements Operation Buswatch in partnership with bus operators and the Police. Elements include gateway checks, swab testing kits and information sharing.
In response to reports of antisocial behaviour, an undercover officer travels on the bus to identify culprits to the Police when the bus is stopped at the gateway check.
Gateway checks reassure passengers that action is being taken against antisocial behaviour. As of August 2008 over 170 gateway checks have been carried out, witnessed by 57,000 passengers with details reported in the local press.
Drivers can suffer unpleasant spitting attacks. All 4,000 Lancashire drivers were issued with swab testing kits in 2006 enabling them to collect DNA to identify culprits. Five people have been successfully prosecuted. The kits have dramatically reduced the number of spitting attacks from 50 in 2005/6 to just 7 in 2006/7.
Operation Buswatch also introduced a database to share information between the Police and the Unit. Safer Travel Offender Record Management (STORM) ensures that the most appropriate action is agreed for a young offender.
The Unit works with bus operators to install CCTV allowing the Unit to detect antisocial behaviour. The Unit is keen to trial new technology and has evaluated a low-cost digital CCTV bus system.
Best Practice
 The Unit is keen to promote best practice. It is a founder member of the North West Travelsafe forum. It works closely with PTEs – Travelsafe (MerseyTravel), Crime Reduction Team (Greater Manchester), Centro (West Midlands) and SAFEMARK (South Yorkshire) – and is the only shire authority represented on the PTEG National Security Group.
During 2007, windows were broken on fifteen Skelmersdale buses. The Unit in partnership with the bus operator and the Police adopted Operation Trojan Horse from Travelsafe. A youth was arrested and the attacks stopped.
The Unit gained valuable publicity nationally on Tonight with Trevor MacDonald in 2007. The Government’s renewal.net website contains a case-study of the Unit.
The Unit gained the IIP Award in 2006 and contributed to Lancashire’s award of Beacon Authority for Improving Accessibility in March 2008.
Accessibility issues are embedded in the work of the whole council and are reflected in its work with partners.
You may contact the Safer Travel Unit in confidence at any time.
|
