Agenda Item 9 Neighbourhood Policing Evaluation London Area Baselining Study September 2009 British Transport Police 1 Contents_______________________________________ __________ Executive summary 2 Background 4 Methodology 6 Case Studies 1 Croydon 11 2 Wimbledon 19 3 Finsbury Park 27 4 Seven Sisters 35 5 Acton Mainline 41 6 Stratford 48 Officer survey findings 55 Appendix 58 Quality of Service Research Team Strategic Development Department Strategic Services Force Headquarters 25 Camden Road London, NW1 9LN Tel: 020 7830 8911 Email:
[email protected] British Transport Police 2 Executive summary______________________________________ Many of the rail staff who took part in the evaluation spoke of feeling neglected by a police service that they perceived to be more engaged with its own organisational agenda than with the needs of its users. This was evidenced by the failure of BTP’s current policing arrangements to reflect the needs of staff effectively. Of great interest was the way in which many staff spoke of their hopes and expectations for the future. The introduction of NP was often described in glowing terms, considered capable of providing the visible, accessible and familiar police presence that staff thought was needed to close the gap that had developed between themselves and BTP. Indeed, the strongest message for NPTs is that staff confidence may appear low, but their expectations are high. It became clear throughout the evaluation that each site has its own narrative – its own unique collection of challenges, customs and conflicts which can only be understood by talking to those with ‘local’ knowledge. Indeed, as will become clear throughout the following report, the experiential knowledge of those who work on and regularly use the railways is at present a largely untapped resource.