On The Buses with Jon Cheetham (From This Is Local London)

On The Buses with Jon Cheetham

10:57am Thursday 24th May 2007

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Reported crimes are steadily decreasing but the public still do not feel safe. JON CHEETHAM looks at how Bromley's Safer Transport Team is working to put this right.

LOW-LEVEL crime and anti-social behaviour costs Transport for London (Tfl) £11m a year. To help combat this the scheme is funding 18 full-time PCSOs to police Bromley's buses. The Safer Transport Team was launched in January and will run for two years.

‘The success is largely due to the PCSOs’

SGT JOHN FLEMING

So far, the head of the team, 37-year-old Sergeant John Fleming, is very pleased with his young officers' efforts.

He said: "The success is largely due to the PCSOs, who have been very good.

"Most of them are younger and have a more relaxed attitude and can convey themselves well to the youth element on the buses."

Communication with the old as well as the young is an important part of the team's work.

Compared with other areas policed by the Met, Bromley has the highest proportion of older people in relation to its population.

Sgt Fleming said: "We have to speak to them and get them back on buses. They won't go on between 3pm and 6pm because of the influx of schoolkids.

"Everyone is shouting and using mobile phones. We have to tackle the misconception 20 kids at a bus stop are going to graffiti it.

"They may be boisterous and noisy but they aren't going to rob you and they aren't going to kick the windows in."

The high visibility of the PCSOs in their bright yellow vests is part of the strategy for improving lives for passengers.

Sgt Fleming, who has been a policeman for 16 years, added: "Every contact leaves a trace and they are very positive ambassadors for the borough.

"They send out the message we are serious about dealing with the issue and can deal with it on a consistent basis."

The officers also patrol the areas along bus routes where criminal activity is common.

Daily contact with the public means they can gather valuable intelligence which can be used by police.

Every shift begins with a parade and then the nine officers on duty share information and are given their tasks for the day.

Sgt Fleming said: "We are constantly getting real-time information about what has happened on the buses and react to this.

"There is a perception if you are on the bus, you are looking for crime, but it is more a case of serving the people in Bromley and finding out what is happening."

Bromley is different from a borough such as Westminster, where the majority of commuters do not live in the area.

Sgt Fleming said: "Most of the commuters using the buses in Bromley also live in the borough.

"If there is disorder on the buses, then it is where people live as well.

The Safer Transport Team has given more than 400 pieces of intelligence about criminal and anti-social behaviour to the CID.

To attend meetings about safer transport in Bromley, call Sgt Fleming on 020 8721 4536 or email STT.Bromley@met.police.uk

Good news for the travelling public'

CHIEF Inspector Marshall Kent from Bromley Police said: "Our community has told us safety on public transport is a real issue in Bromley.

"The Safer Transport Team focuses on crime and disorder and its presence is a welcome and highly visible reassurance to our travelling public.

"We are working very closely with our partners at TfL and the bus companies to ensure we maximise the opportunities for using bus CCTV images of suspects causing damage and disorder to identify and arrest the perpetrators.

"The Bromley Safer Transport Team is really good news for the law abiding travelling public and really bad news for those who commit crime and anti-social behaviour on our bus service."

Since January, Bromley's Safer Transport Team has been responsible for 40 arrests on the buses.

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