Oxford station - facilities, improvements, parking, incidents and events - merged posts

[whole diary]

[hornbeam]

Good news. 

[SDS]

RTS,
BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) still haven't caught the person that pulled a knife on me, despite them being 5 mins away.
PCSOs no longer have the power to report, according to the one that I spoke to a couple of weeks ago, and most of them are less than effective at enforcing bye-laws. You have to tell them what bye-laws you want them kicked out of the station for.

I also once had 2 PCSOs standing right next to me, when a person pushed past me while I was dispatching and grab hold of a door handle while the train was starting to move. What do you think the PCSOs did? Nothing. But it gets better, when I shouted at the person to move away and the door was 'made safe' the person turned to me told me that "I had f**king let that train leave early, and I was a f**king wa**er".
Did the PCSOs do anything? Nope. Despite me asking for him to be detained for S5 PoA. The PCSOs did nothing said nothing and then hung around for the person to leave the platform and then vanished.

Now you wonder why I have such faith in BTP?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmm.  British Transport Police do have a clear and detailed formal complaints process:

Listening and responding to concerns and complaints
We will listen and respond appropriately to concerns and complaints. It is important to increase public confidence in our ability to deal with such issues effectively. If you make a complaint against British Transport Police we will:

demonstrate police accountability
operate to improve standards
be responsive to the complainant^s needs
be just and proportionate
be timely and effective
be open to public scrutiny and sensitive to the public interest

If you would like further information about how to make a complaint ^ including information about how to make a complaint please go to our Complaints against the Police page.

[SDS]

Done that already.
The PCSOs received "words of advice" via the Local Resolution Process.

They're still looking for my knife puller.

[willc]

And probably looking for a lot of other criminals too, like all police forces - current overall detection rate for Thames Valley Police in Oxfordshire is about 25 per cent, though they do better with violence, up near 60 per cent.

Don't know how BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) fare by comparison but I am sure having officers in the county, not having to trek up from Reading, can only be a good thing.

[SDS]

You ever had a knife pulled on you?
Do you do a job which you (have to) expect to be abused, threatened, both physically and verbally?
Do you learn not to rely on BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) at ANY time, because they just don't turn up.
Were you even there when I had the knife pulled on me, do you do how I felt?

SDS out.

[willc]

Sorry, but I was making a general point about crime detection, not about your specific case. I wouldn't presume to put myself in your shoes at that moment. And on the odd occasion, yes, I have been abused and threatened in my line of work - though not with a knife.

We know you don't like BTP^▸ (British Transport Police). But other police forces aren't god-like crime-busting geniuses either, so they might not have done any better catching the knifeman. And they aren't always just round the corner in an emergency either.

[IndustryInsider]

Do we know whether these officers are additional officers or simply officers that were based at Reading or London being transferred to Oxford, who would have been out and about over their patch already?

[ChrisB]

No, transferred up from Reading.

[Electric train]

No, transferred up from Reading.

Perhaps they don't like all the building noise at Reading 


It is far better for the Bobbies to be deployed out across the patch than to be concentrated in a few places

[IndustryInsider]

No, transferred up from Reading.

It is far better for the Bobbies to be deployed out across the patch than to be concentrated in a few places

I thought they would be, and whilst it is better, yes, It's not anywhere near as good as having more officers.  These officers would already spend much of their time across the patch, so I don't see them having an office 27 miles away as making much of a difference.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

New British Transport Police team for Oxford railway station



British Transport Police have launched a new team at Oxford railway station to cope with a rise in passenger numbers.

The six-strong team will police the railway network from Charlbury, through Oxford, to Reading.

It comes as figures revealed an overall reduction in crime to 115 cases in 2010, compared to 142 in 2009.

Ch Supt Mark Smith, of the British Transport Police (BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)), said officers would have more time to tackle crime and get to know the local community.

"The new office will act as a base for my team to continue protecting and serving passengers and staff, as well as working closely with the rail industry to make the network as safe as possible," he said.

Previously BTP officers travelled to Oxford from London Paddington and Reading.

First Great Western director of communications, Sue Evans, said: "With an annual footfall of 5.2 million, Oxford is one of our busiest stations and we worked hard to get a dedicated BTP team for the area. We're delighted to be able to accommodate the BTP officers at Oxford Station, and will continue to work together to provide a secure environment for our customers."

The majority of reported incidents of crime at the station concerned bicycle thefts, followed by antisocial behaviour.

The previous BTP office on the site closed in 1992 as part of a restructuring of the unit.

[willc]

Update on progress, with them back on schedule to complete the new structure on time.

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/8832644.Redbridge_revamp_work____is_on_track___/

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks, as ever, for your very helpful updates, willc! 

Erm ... Any comment on the 'your say' comment to that particular article, on the Oxford Mail website?

Congratulations to Network Rail. In this current climate you have done very well in stringing out a 1 month job into at least 5. No flies on you eh. I wonder how long it would have taken had it been a private sector job, with loss of contract clauses in it?

[willc]

Let's just say that poster has 'form'.

A more considered view by someone who knows the area has since been posted, rebutting it.