Community Safety Introduction
The RSSB National Programmes, Railway Operations team exists to help the industry to pursue improvements in major risk areas. One of these areas is Community Safety.
In the railway industry, community safety refers to a package of issues associated with crime and misbehaviour by the public and the initiatives put in place to manage and reduce the impact on safety, performance and cost. These issues include:
- Trespass and Vandalism (including graffiti; arson; objects placed on the line)
- Assaults on staff and customers
- Crime against people and physical railway assets
- Level crossing misuse
- Suicide
- Anti-social behaviour
The initiatives include the use of complementary policing schemes and adopt a station schemes.
The purpose of community safety is to maintain and build public confidence in personal safety and security while people travel on trains or use railway facilities.
It excludes:
- Cable theft
- Security, including terrorism
- Bridge strikes
- Vehicle incursions on to the railway
- Theft on trains
- Business crime – bribery, embezzlement, etc.
- Major crime – eg murder
The team structures its work under the framework of the five Es:
Enabling – The provision of resources through people, procedures and systems to allow the other 4Es to be effective.
Education – Providing appropriate materials for target audiences and ensuring that these are delivered in a consistent manner.
Engineering – Physical equipment and protection, together with research into innovative means of increasing safety on the railway.
Enforcement – The use of laws to prosecute those who endanger themselves or others on the railway.
Evaluation – Setting a baseline before embarking on initiatives so that the before and after can be properly compared, to understand what works well and what does not.