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The magazine of British Transport Police Issue 15 May / June 2011 Tracking down the cable thieves Million pound gang jailed page 6 Scrap sector has its say Guest columnist Ian Hetherington from the BMRA page 5 the Line
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page 6 Guest columnist Ian Hetherington from the BMRA page 5 · 2011-06-22 · small family owned companies, together BMRA members process over 13 million tonnes – over 95 per cent

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Page 1: page 6 Guest columnist Ian Hetherington from the BMRA page 5 · 2011-06-22 · small family owned companies, together BMRA members process over 13 million tonnes – over 95 per cent

The m

agazine of British T

ransport Police

Issue 15 May / Ju

ne 2011

Tracking down the cable thievesMillion pound gang jailed page 6

Scrap sector has its sayGuest columnist Ian Hetherington from the BMRA page 5

theLine

Page 2: page 6 Guest columnist Ian Hetherington from the BMRA page 5 · 2011-06-22 · small family owned companies, together BMRA members process over 13 million tonnes – over 95 per cent

First BodyCam conviction in Scotland The first conviction using evidence from a body mounted video camera has been recorded in Scotland.

Thirty-eight year old Kevin Nelson was fined £450 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to a breach of the peace on board a train travelling between Carlisle and Edinburgh, following a Carlisle v Hibs friendly football match last year.

Video of his drunken behaviour captured on an officer’s BodyCam was submitted as evidence for the first time.

Bike thieves nabbedNeighbourhood policing officers conducting observations at Ruislip London Underground station have caught a prolific teenage bike thief red handed.

The 17-year-old from Wembley pleaded guilty to seven counts of theft and was ordered to pay victims £874 compensation. He was also given a 12 month referral order and ordered to pay £80 costs.

Meanwhile, what a judge described as a ‘cycle thief tourist’ who targeted Havant, Fratton and Fareham stations has been jailed for a year after pleading guilty to four cycle thefts.

Three years jail for gun carrying teenA 17-year-old caught carrying a loaded gun on a train in Higham, Kent has been jailed for three years following an investigation by Ashford CID.The semi-automatic pistol was subsequently linked to three London

gang shootings in one of which a person was shot three times.

Ticket forgers foiledA man who faked season tickets worth more than £23,000 has been jailed for 18 months. His partner was also convicted

and given a nine month suspended sentence.

The Stoke-on-Trent couple, 44-year-old Martin Ibbs and 61-year-old Elaine Giles, were arrested after Virgin Trains staff at Euston station became suspicious in July last year.

Meeting today’s threats Two big threats face us on the railways at this time, the continuing problem of terrorism and the serious issue of cable and metal theft.

Both have very serious consequences, both are something we have spent

much time and effort planning for and both are something we work with the rail industry to tackle.

On the terrorism front, the Secretary of State for Transport has just announced that BTP can develop its own armed capability to supplement the armed capability of local forces we have been relying upon until now. Over the next few months, we will be recruiting and training officers to provide this resource, and we will do this from existing budgets without imposing any extra costs on the rail industry.

Whilst this is an important development, the heart of our counter terrorism strategy remains the partnership we have with rail operators, their staff and the public. Communities working with the police are, in the end, the only way to defeat terrorists.

Thankfully, terrorists have not struck recently, but unfortunately cable thieves have, and in increasing numbers.

The impact of cable theft on the smooth running of the network, not to mention the direct and indirect costs to Network Rail, TfL and train operators, is enormous.

There has been great success in bringing cable thieves to justice and some of that is detailed in this issue. However, on its own that is not solving the problem and we have revamped our operations under the new name of Operation Leopard to focus activities across all areas – detection of offenders, deterrence and prevention – to ensure we achieve better outcomes, by reducing the number of offences committed.

Metal theft is a classic acquisitive crime, and acquisitive crime generally increases in difficult economic times. We are seeing that now, so the task of reducing offences against that background and the increasing hike in world metal prices, will not be easy.

Nevertheless, working together we can crack this particularly difficult problem, but we will have to be focussed and imaginative in our response.

theLine

editorial in this issue

For circulation/subscription enquiries contact:

Media and MarketingBritish Transport PoliceForce Headquarters, 25 Camden Road London, NW1 9LN

Editor Simon LubinEmail [email protected] 020 7830 8854

www.btp.police.uk

Metal trade association introduces members’ code

Downloading mobile phone data

Recruitment of firearms officers begins

news in brief

news in brief

page 10

page 8

page 3

Chief Constable Andy Trotter

considering the resilience of the overall police armed capability and has concluded that it would be beneficial to enhance this by providing the British Transport Police with an armed capability of its own. The timing of this is not as a result of any specific threat.”

Armed officers will primarily patrol at major transport hubs in

Go ahead for firearms officerssecretary of state for Transport Philip Hammond gave the green light for bTP to develop a firearms capability in a written statement to Parliament on 24 May

London, but there will also be the capability to use them in other parts of the country, if needed.

BTP is recruiting a core team, who will spend some of their time on armed patrols, as well as a reserve of trained officers to call upon when the need arises. The core team will be part of the London based Counter Terrorism Support Unit.

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther is now leading the project to establish an armed capability and BTP armed officers are expected to be on patrol by the end of this year.

“We believe that deploying armed officers on patrol, as is already the practice at airports, will enhance security at stations at times of heightened threat or according to intelligence,” said DCC Crowther.

“They will be an added deterrent and will supplement local police resources, increasing the resilience of the police service generally.”

The move was agreed by the Secretary of State for Transport and the Home Secretary in response to the continuing terrorist threat.

“The Government is committed to the security of the country and as such keeps our capabilities under constant review,” Mr Hammond told Parliament.

“The Government has been Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP

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The gang foreman, Michael Leaf, from Nottingham, was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, whilst Clint Andrews, also from Nottingham, and Craig Tasker from West Hallam, were given four month suspended sentences and ordered to undertake 100 hours community service.

Following information received, they were stopped on the M1 in November 2010 in a vehicle carrying £430 of stolen rail.

The subsequent investigation, known as Operation Operatic, tracked them weighing in rail on over 50 occasions stolen from across the East Midlands and north London.

The three men, who had been working for a Network Rail subcontractor responsible for erecting fences and clearing worksites, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft and to convert criminal property.

Detective Constable Michael Kelly from British Transport Police’s dedicated cable team said: “The theft of railway equipment and cable is an ongoing problem in the East Midlands area.”

It marked the launch of a hard-hitting BTP film highlighting the impact cable theft has on rail passengers and the wider community.

The film, produced in partnership with Network Rail and Crimestoppers, was shown on a multi-screen plasma video wall in Swansea’s Quadrant Shopping Centre and Cardiff ’s St David’s Shopping Centre, with officers on hand to chat

to shoppers and hand out information leaflets.

The aim of the film was to inform the public that theft of cable is not a victimless crime and has huge costs for all involved – not just the rail industry, but also the wider community.

Sergeant Steve Dawkins said the film had proved a big success.

“It generated a lot of interest and really helped get the message

across that theft of cable is not a victimless crime,” he added.

“Over the weekend, as a result of the information week in Swansea, we received a number of calls from members of the public reporting possible instances of cable theft.

“That, to me, demonstrates that cable theft is now at the forefront of people’s thoughts, and that the film is already having an impact.”

Following an increase in cable crime around Grimsby and Immingham, local BTP officers warned off thieves, who were leaving empty handed.

Cable was cut, but discarded near the line, as it turned out to be fibre optic cable – of no value

to thieves.“In these particular incidents

the thieves left empty-handed but caused great expense and unnecessary delays to passengers,” said PC Michelle Pidgen, who also warned potential thieves that patrols have been stepped up.

Network Rail Route Director Richard Lungmuss highlighted the “massive disruption” the attacks were causing. “Fibre cable has very little resale value but can cause lengthy disruption to passengers while it is fixed and tested,” he said.

rAiL THieves weiGHed Off

Cable Crime Campaign hits big sCreen

iT’s nOT wHAT YOU THink, POLiCe wArn THieves

Metal theft is a real problem. Not only does it affect industry, including telecommunications, railways, utilities and construction, but it also disrupts communities, causes distress and can cost taxpayers or service users a great deal of money. Thieves also pose a very real threat to the safety of the staff of metal recycling companies.

The BMRA is actively working to mitigate the effects of metal theft along with the police and the other industries affected.

The BMRA represents the legitimate £5 billion UK metals recycling industry. With 300 members ranging from multinational businesses to small family owned companies, together BMRA members process over 13 million tonnes – over 95 per cent of the scrap metal in the UK – every year. All recycled metal is sold for re-melting to produce ‘new’ metal for use in industrial production or for casting, for example, to produce products such as taps or machine components.

Metal theft is obviously a concern for our members, who are all too often themselves victims of large-scale thefts of pre-sorted metals stored on site. Furthermore, they are very keen to avoid inadvertently taking stolen metal at their sites.

The BMRA has been working with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), British Transport Police, local police forces, and utilities companies such as BT, as well as with the Environment Agency and local

authorities to deter thieves and stamp out the illegal trade in scrap metal. In October last year, the BMRA and ACPO launched a voluntary Code of Practice to encourage a consistent standard of transaction security over and beyond that required of metal recyclers under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964.

Code of PracticeThe Code gives clear guidance to our members on how to improve security and what to do if employees are suspicious of any criminal activity. This includes introducing CCTV systems at sites, requesting identification from those people not already known to the business, and not making cash payments to people who are not known unless identification is produced.

Accurate records are required by the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 including names, addresses and vehicle registration numbers, and suspicious people or transactions are reported to the police.

Our support for the Code demonstrates our members’ commitment to tackle the issue of reducing metal theft in conjunction with other stakeholders. Alongside this we have also been working with ACPO to develop common guidance for local police forces, and to improve police forces’ understanding of the issues that affect the metals recycling industry.

Our members need to know when material has been stolen so that they can look out for it and differentiate it from

GUesT COLUMnisT

Scrap sector speaksIan Hetherington is Director General of the British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA). Here he talks about the impact of metal theft on the industry and how the industry is working with the police to deter thieves and identify stolen material.

Three men who stole railway tracks worth £18,000 have been convicted at Derby Crown Court

Officers in Cardiff and swansea have been raising awareness of cable crime – with the help of a giant Tv screen

bona fide scrap. To help them, BMRA operates an online metal theft alert system that warns members about stolen material thieves may try to sell through the legitimate trade.

It is probably worth noting that some 5,000 tonnes of metal was stolen last year. Set against the 13 million tonnes bought by our members in the same period it is evident that identifying what has been stolen is not always an easy task especially when perfectly legitimate scrap may look brand new or, at the very least, serviceable; for example cable surplus to a contractor’s requirements and factory rejects.

Police already have strong powers in relation to all licensed metals recycling sites. They have the right to access and the right to inspect records without a warrant. However, we continue to actively encourage more collaboration between police and the Environment Agency to stamp out illegal operations on unregulated sites, rather than concentrating scarce resources on sites run by the large number of well-run and broadly compliant operators.

Illegal sites provide a route to market for stolen metals, regardless of the regulations and laws imposed on legitimate metals recyclers, and continually undermine the efforts of the industry and the police to raise standards across the supply chain. A coordinated approach focusing on driving out these illegal operators will make it tougher for criminals and fairer for the well run metal recycler.

Did you know?Metals recycling is a globally competitive and environmentally important industry. It supplies secondary raw material, which preserves natural resources, saves energy and reduces CO2 emissions by up to 80 per cent in metals production.

Some 60 per cent of UK recycled metal is exported. Recycling of metals is also the major contributor to the UK’s achievement of targets under EU Directives such as end-of-life vehicles and packaging.

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The ringleader of a derbyshire cable theft gang, which targeted the rail network for over 18 months, has been jailed for four-and-a-half years

latest Joint operation in sCotland

aCpos metal theFt sub-group

rising Cable Crime

Thirty-four year old Lee Bamford from Heanor, Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to a total of 67 offences covering conspiracy to steal cable and conspiracy to convert criminal property.

Bamford was jailed in April, two weeks after four other gang members were sentenced to four years imprisonment each, and a fifth to eight months. Bamford failed to appear at the earlier hearing and was re-arrested.

The gang, with Bamford at its head, used the internet and satnavs to target areas of track near road bridges, from which they could easily get away.

They stole more than 32 tonnes of cable from the rail network, much of it vital earthing and power cabling. They caused massive disruption to trains across the country with delays totalling more than 300 hours and many trains cancelled altogether.

“Whilst many criminals see cable theft as a victimless crime, the reality is that it is an attack on communities and the very infrastructure that keeps the country operating,” said London North Detective Inspector Terry Pearce.

“Without vital rail services many people cannot go about their daily business which means work hours are lost, appointments are missed and important visits – perhaps to hospitals or loved ones – cannot be made.”

The prosecution described the gang’s activity as “a well-structured and highly organised enterprise, yielding a very substantial profit.” That profit, the court heard, was frittered away on “drugs, McDonald’s and cigarettes”.

The costs to Network Rail were also substantial, reaching almost £1 million for repairs and compensation charges.

The gang first came to notice in the summer of 2009 after theft of earthing cable near Bletchley station.

The subsequent investigation uncovered a catalogue of thefts and damage going back to 2008 and covering areas from Milton Keynes to Leeds and Stockport, by way of Nottingham, Derby, Rugby, Coventry and many places in between.

Detectives traced the stolen cable to scrap metal dealers near the gang members’

homes, where they used false names and identification to dupe recyclers.

Evidence gathered from the dealers enabled BTP to track the

thieves’ movements and build a full picture of their criminality, which

was confirmed by texts, mobile phone video, satnav and laptop data.

Describing the extent of the criminal activity as “staggering”, Chief

Superintendent Mark Smith,

London North Area Commander said: “The criminal

behaviour of this gang resulted in countless problems for commuters as the

rail industry was seriously compromised by the thefts carried out over a huge geographical area.

“This catalogue of thievery serves to highlight the very real problems the railway and other industries face from those who steal metal and cable.

“Thankfully, due to the tenacity of BTP officers, the willingness of Network Rail to quickly report incidents and the assistance of the metal recyclers, we were able to trace their activity throughout 2009 and back into 2008.”

Investigators compiled forensic evidence putting the men at the scenes of many of the crimes and providing compelling proof that led to the guilty pleas.

Dyan Crowther, Network Rail’s Director of Operational Services said that the

In the latest operation to target metal theft, BTP joined forces with Scotland’s largest police force at three locations across the greater Glasgow area.

Operation Platinum involved BTP and Strathclyde police and saw over 120 vehicle stops with 46 people reported to the Procurator Fiscal. Also involved were the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), who are now pursuing a further 66 people operating without the appropriate licence.

The operation targeted vehicles in Renfrew, Glasgow and Shettleston and was run in partnership with SEPA, the Vehicle

and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and the Department for Work and Pensions.

BTP Detective Inspector John Harrington described Platinum as “an ideal opportunity to work closely with a number of partner agencies to disrupt and deter those who think that they can get away with stealing a few pounds worth of metal, which ends up costing us all.”

Superintendent Derek Robertson from Strathclyde Police emphasised that metal theft isn’t about an individual making a few extra pounds. “This is about serious organised crime groups stripping communities of their infrastructure.”

BTP’s Area Commander for Scotland, Chief Superintendent Ellie Bird, has taken over the chairmanship of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) metal theft sub-group.

The sub-group forms part of the ACPOS Commercial Crime Group and brings together representatives from industry, commerce and law enforcement.

Like its England and Wales counterpart, the group is working to develop a structured partnership

approach to combat metal theft in all its forms.

“BTP’s chair of this group is a real opportunity to influence the direction of metal theft work in Scotland and acknowledge the effort made by business, Government and law enforcement,” said Chief Superintendent Bird. “It provides links to the ACPOS Commercial Crime Group and Crime Business Area as well as the rest of UK policing through the equivalent ACPO group where good practice can be shared.”

Cable theft was up by 70 per cent in 2010/11. 2,712 crimes were reported compared with 1,593 the previous year. It represents 40 per cent of all theft of railway property.

Fifty-one per cent of cable crime involves ‘live’ cable, which causes the most disruption. Crimes reported in the North East account for 63 per cent of all cable thefts.

sentences reflect the seriousness of the crimes.

“Cable theft is an attack on communities and the economy.” she said. “These thieves have caused misery to thousands of passengers and freight users and cost many thousands of pounds, money which should have been invested in improving rail services.”

Along with passengers, train operators are the real victims of cable theft. Gary Cooper, Head of Operations at the Association of Train Operating Companies, pledged that his members are determined to crack down on the problem.

“Train companies want to do all they possibly can to reduce the number of cancellations and delays caused by cable theft, which regularly leads to considerable disruption for many of their passengers,” he said.

Lee Bamford was sentenced to four-and-a-half years for each charge with the sentences running concurrently. He was also given a further month’s prison term for failing to appear at the first sentencing hearing.

Thomas Ingram, Ian Radford, David Gatfield and Scott Clark were also sentenced to concurrent sentences of four years, whilst Martin Harriman was given an eight month prison sentence, suspended for two years, a two year supervision order and 150 hours unpaid work.

•Another thief, who attempted to steal cable from a railway line in Knottingley near Leeds, was jailed for six months in May. Mark Differ, 30, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court after pleading guilty to attempted theft of cable and railway obstruction. Police caught Differ in the act after being alerted by rail staff on 7 April this year. When confronted, he lay down on the tracks then ran to a nearby bridge from which he threatened to jump, causing the road and railway line to be closed. The incident led to 240 minutes delay to services and the cancellation of 15 trains.

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In tackling any problem, the first step is to understand in detail exactly what you are dealing with. This is why BTP hosted a special conference earlier this year to share experience and broaden the Force’s knowledge of the issues involved.

Around 100 delegates, from external agencies as well as from all BTP Areas, gathered at the London event to hear what is being done to tackle the problem and to highlight just how serious the issue has become.

The one day conference was opened by Deputy Chief

Constable Paul Crowther, who leads for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) on metal and cable theft. He emphasised the seriousness of cable theft and how, in most cases, it represents an attack on communities and the national infrastructure itself.

Chief Superintendent Eamonn Carroll and Detective Chief Inspector Dave King outlined BTP’s renewed vision in relation to cable theft and the aims for all officers going forward.

“We have reviewed what is being done across BTP and there is a lot of good work

HOw dO YOU sOLve A PrObLeM Like CAbLe THefT? blitz stems metal theFt in north east

The blitz operation, known as Operation Bath, has been running at a number of hotspots across the North Eastern Area. After a team of officers was sent to Billingham, Stockton-On-Tees, cable-related incidents stopped for a week.

Operation Bath includes high visibility day and night patrols and has run in two phases targeting South and West Yorkshire, and parts of Teesside. It is jointly resourced by officers from the North Eastern Area and central resources from BTP’s Force HQ.

The operation makes innovative use of mobile patrols and Neighbourhood Policing Teams as Chief Inspector Dave Oram from the North Eastern Area explains.

He said: “Operation Bath is a concentration of resources, we have night patrols and single mobile patrols to increase our footprint. There is a response back up if needed and throughout the operation we have had a dedicated command and control hub to coordinate and monitor area-wide activity. With up to 20 vehicles involved every night, this has proved invaluable.”

As well as the North Eastern and central officers devoted to combating cable theft, Neighbourhood Policing Teams have also been playing their part.

“We’ve involved NPTs in this, it makes sense,” says Chief Inspector Oram.

“Most of these criminals don’t travel very far from home; they are part of the neighbourhood. So asking NPTs to help by putting problem solving plans in place, visits to scrap metal dealers – even outside their area, offender management and disruption activity is absolutely

The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA), trade association for the £5 billion UK metal recycling sector, has agreed a crime reduction Code of Practice with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) metal theft working group.

The code aims to deter illegal trading of

stolen metal and gives clear guidelines on how to improve security and what to do if recycling staff are suspicious. It also provides common guidance for local police forces and metals recyclers.

BTP’s Deputy Chief Constable, Paul Crowther, chairs the ACPO working group.

COde TO PrOMOTe sMOOTH reLATiOns

A cable theft hotspot targeted as part of a major bTP operation was left crime free after a dedicated team was sent in to deal with the problem

team proFile

being carried out,” said Chief Superintendent Carroll.

“Significant operations are taking place across the country and we have highly motivated, enthusiastic and skilled staff involved in tackling this crime.

“But there is always room for improvement and, as a result of the review, we have identified 50 recommendations we feel could enhance the work being done already.”

Amongst others, those recommendations include enhanced deployment of dedicated cable response teams, ensuring they are in the right places at the right times, officers seeking bail conditions that include curfews and restrictions on going near to railway lines and scrap metal dealers (SMD), and improved SMD checks after cable theft incidents – with at least three local dealers visited to carry out thorough checks of records and the yard itself.

“At a Force level we have initiated Operation Leopard, which replaces Operation Drum,” said Chief Supt Carroll. “This will modernise the way we tackle cable theft. We have already established twice weekly conference calls with all Areas to look at cable theft incidents in detail and we have set up a Fusion Intelligence Unit, which has brought together analysts from BT, BTP and Network Rail to gain a better understanding of crime patterns and where offenders are operating.”

Representatives from Network Rail and BT provided a valuable input at the conference detailing exactly how metal theft affects their business and how BTP can more effectively dovetail its activity and investigations with their existing work.

“… recom-mendations include enhanced deployment of dedicated cable response teams…”

part of their role in protecting their communities.”

With rising fuel prices, criminals are even less likely to venture far from home. If they have to drive a long way to steal and dispose of cable, it just stops being viable for the few pounds they can make.

However, if rising fuel prices may help solve the problem, there are other challenges ahead. Crime last winter in the North East was depressed by the very cold weather, something they may not be able to rely on this year.

“We review crime incidents every morning. The numbers are relatively small in volume crime terms – for instance compared to domestic burglaries local police would deal with – but you have to apply the harm test. If you had two or three burglaries that were costing half a million pounds, that would be a significant problem.”

The blitz operation follows a targeted leaflet campaign highlighting to local residents the effects of cable theft on communities and warning of the dangers

and likely punishments for stealing cable.

The success of Operation Bath, says Chief Inspector Oram, has been due to its concentration on small areas. “You have to keep your nerve and stay in an area, even if there is an isolated theft up the road. Maintaining a sustainable presence is important if you are going to make a real impact,” he said.

The operation has been run as cost effectively as possible, with minimal reliance on overtime and has made use of industry resources, such as Network Rail Mobile Operations Managers (MOMs).

“I’d like to have dedicated MOMs on this sort of operation,” says Chief Inspector Oram. “They are a very valuable part of the team.”

Building on the success of operations in the North East – more than 200 arrests have been made in the region over the past year – Network Rail is now helping to fund additional police resources that will work from bases in Darlington, Doncaster and Leeds.

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What is the best thing about your job?It is the challenges without a doubt and there are many when you are dealing with metal theft. One of them is that BTP has the lead on this issue for police forces nationally. That’s a great responsibility.

What is the worst thing?The metal price crash of late 2008 took away the momentum we had built up. That meant the focus on metal theft was lost, but personally I knew it was only a temporary change – which was proved in 2010. Saying I told you so doesn’t help though!

What have you found the most satisfying recently?The energy and focus around the start of Operation Leopard. Some of the aspirations of 2008 are now being realised, like the

new Fusion Intelligence Unit. I believe the next 12 months will be crucial for BTP in tackling metal theft but my team and I are certainly up for the challenges it brings. I have always felt somewhat fortunate in that I work on so many fronts, from intelligence to training, strategic and operational policing to name a few, but all with metal theft at its heart.

Did you always want to be a detective?Yes, from very early on in my BTP career. My motivation was that I wanted to spend more time in bringing to justice the primary offenders, who organise and benefit from the most crime. For example, I have a metal theft investigation that I have been involved in for two years. So far, we’ve had over 30 arrests and 12 people charged to court and

What was the issue?Almost everyone has at least one mobile phone, many people have multiple phones.

BTP’s Scientific Support Unit (SSU) has a Hi Tech Crime Unit (HTCU) which examines mobile phones, computers and related equipment. It has seen the number of mobile phones that need to be examined, downloaded and analysed as part of every day investigations explode in recent years.

Steve Sandford is from the HTCU. “Drug dealers for instance often have multiple phones that can contain vital evidence,” he said. “At the same time, there has been a

huge increase in the number of computers we are being asked to examine, and with the growing capacity of hard drives, that is increasingly time consuming.”

The SSU therefore decided to invest in equipment to support the forensic examination process of mobile phones.

What did you do?SSU HTCU worked with Southampton based company Radio Tactics to bring in the ACESO mobile phone forensics solution, now available to officers on every Area of the Force.

The ACESO system is designed to extract and analyse results from mobile phones,

60 second interview

keePinG knives OUT Of briTAin

The initiative, funded by the Home Office’s Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP), saw a 58 per cent cut in the number of weapons-related offences recorded at St Pancras International station.

“The problem is that laws in some European countries differ from ours allowing people to carry knives, CS gas and the like,” explained Inspector Julian Dixon, British Transport Police’s officer-in-charge at St Pancras International.

The TKAP programme funded leaflets and banners with multi-lingual information about prohibited items.

Working in partnership with Eurostar, the UK Borders Agency and French and Belgian police, BTP police officers and Police Community Support Officers targeted young people passing through international stations at Ashford, Ebbsfleet and St Pancras.

“Our analysis showed that between the various agencies we were stopping a large number of arriving non-UK passengers aged 13 to 24 with knives or other weapons. Quite a number of these resulted in arrests, which is obviously not good for the individual and takes up a lot of police time,” said Inspector Dixon.

“Taking knives off Britain’s streets is an important step in reducing the toll of death and serious injury that young victims suffer every year. We have been deploying knife arches across the rail network for some time now to deter youngsters in this country from carrying weapons on the rail system; we certainly don’t want more imported from mainland Europe.”

Over a six month period from August 2010 to January 2011 41 weapons related offences were recorded by BTP at international stations. That compares with 97 for the same period the previous year.

Operation Leopard is the successor to Operation Drum and is tackling one of the railway’s most pressing problems, a problem that causes massive disruption to passengers and costs the industry millions of pounds a year. Chris joined BTP in 1996 and has been a detective for most of his career serving in London and Milton Keynes. Within two days of joining the Force Intelligence Bureau, he became involved in metal theft, and that’s where his story begins…

Case studYmaking the most oF mobile phones

60seconds

A project to stop young people bringing knives into britain through international stations has been hailed a success

awaiting trial. Looking back, to get this far has been a major achievement and now we are nearly there as some of them have started to plead guilty.

So, what about the future?I’m someone who is always looking forwards rather than backwards. I can see so many things I would like to do to help BTP make significant inroads around metal theft. One thing I am convinced of is that any lasting solution is going to be about working in a multi-agency way and having a cross-industry approach. What is the one thing you would change if you could?I’d like some changes in the law to make the scrap business a cashless industry – I think that would go a long way to choking off the market for stolen metal.

SIM and other memory and media cards to produce secure, reliable and evidentially sound exhibits for investigation, CPS examination and, where appropriate, prosecution. The latest update can also handle SatNav data.

Radio Tactics worked with BTP to bring in the equipment and train some 30 officers and police staff. Eleven units are sited nationwide and quarterly software updates are provided to take account of rapidly changing technology and new phones coming onto the market.

What was the result?Extracting data in a secure and reliable way locally is bringing significant benefits.

“Using ACESO means officers are starting to operate a triage system, quickly screening out phones that don’t need to be fully examined, which again saves time and money.” says one HTC investigator.

“At the same time officers can get quick results, which speeds up their investigations. The HTCU can now concentrate on those serious and complex cases where our expertise is really needed.”

The result is more potential evidence delivered more quickly. Mobiles are now being processed in days, even hours, rather than weeks.

What next?BTP is keen to find new ways to use technology to support frontline officers and make them more efficient. The Scientific Support Unit is continually looking at new techniques and equipment that will support officers in getting the best possible forensic evidence from mobile phone and computer related exhibits.

“… there has been a huge increase in the number of computers we are being asked to examine…”

Detective Sergeant Chris Hearn leads BTP’s headquarters team dealing with cable theft

10 the line THe MAGAZine Of briTisH TrAnsPOrT POLiCe issUe 15, MAY / JUne 2011 the line 11

Page 7: page 6 Guest columnist Ian Hetherington from the BMRA page 5 · 2011-06-22 · small family owned companies, together BMRA members process over 13 million tonnes – over 95 per cent

The 2010 general election campaign saw more political VIPs than ever using the rail system. As they criss-crossed the country canvassing support, it was BTP’s Special Movements Unit, supported by the entire Counter Terrorism Support Unit (CTSU), who ensured that things went smoothly and without incident.

Now the team has been commended for their supreme efforts managing over 180 movements, more than in the whole of the previous 12 months.

“You represented not only the CTSU, but also BTP superbly throughout,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Miles Flood as he presented certificates of commendation.

“The one to one relationships you had with VIPs enhanced BTP’s reputation and

the operation was delivered to an exceptional standard.”

DCS Flood also praised Superintendent Phil Trendall from the CTSU for his leadership. “Superintendent Trendall played a big leadership role. This was a very professional, flexible and well organised operation.”

Flexibility was the key as there were often short notice changes to itineraries to be coped with.

“All the key people from the Government and opposition, accompanied by the media, were using the trains,” said Superintendent Trendall. “Chief Superintendent David Wildbore was the Gold Commander and we were truly impressed by all the elements that came together to make it work.

“What I see as great successes around this operation were our engagement with the Metropolitan Police, with Areas and with the industry. It was a very successful piece of integration.”

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election victory

luCY risked her liFe to save motoristsA woman who risked her life to pull two drivers to safety following a crash on a level crossing has been awarded the royal Humane society’s silver Medal for bravery

Taxi driver Lucy Gale from Pontefract was approaching Hensall level crossing in North Yorkshire in May 2010, when she witnessed two cars obstructing the line following a collision.

The elderly woman driving one of the vehicles was slouched over the steering wheel, whilst the man driving the other was frantically trying to get out.

Lucy saw what was happening and was also aware of a freight train approaching at speed. Without a thought for her own safety, she dragged the woman from the car and moved her to a place of safety, then went back and forced the damaged driver’s side door to free the other driver. She then jumped into the car, driving it off the crossing and out of the path of the oncoming train, narrowly avoiding disaster.

BTP’s Harry Thompson was one of the first officers on the scene. “When I arrived, I had no idea about the events that had taken place,” he said.

“As the incident unfolded I soon realised how heroic Lucy had been, and was astounded by her courage.”

Superintendent Peter Mason from the North Eastern Area said: “We recommended Ms Gale for this award as her selfless bravery without a doubt saved two peoples lives on that day, and helped avoid potential tragedy for the rail staff on the train. She put her own life at risk in order to save the lives of others, making her a truly remarkable woman and very worthy of this rare accolade.”

Lucy Gale with (l-r) Chief Inspector David Oram, PC Harry Thompson and Sergeant Matt Popple