Summary report from the Scottish Railway Policing Committee

Summary report from the Scottish Railway Policing Committee

Wednesday 5 March 2025

SPA Members – Tom Halpin and Mary Pitcaithly

Joint working Police Scotland / British Transport Police - Discussed when reviewing previous minute

Members sought assurance that BTP now had access to the Interim Vulnerable Persons Database in Scotland. It was confirmed that access is in place and being rolled out to all relevant officers. This will be complete by end of March 2025.

It was highlighted that there had been a discussion previously around deployment of drones with a predicted timeframe of early 2025 and a further update was requested. It was confirmed that there was no date set and a consultation had not been conducted as of yet. A fuller update would be provided post-meeting.

Strategic Risk

An update was provided on strategic risk. It was noted that discussions are being held with Police Scotland on how to join up with the BTP PROSCOT case management system that will be delivered in 2026. Regarding estates, the detail of the risk is being developed. It was agreed that a more detailed update will be discussed in June covering the Strategic Estates Plan and linked to the Police Scotland Estates masterplan.

Policing Plan Performance Q3 2024/25

Members commended BTP Scotland for continuing to lead the way in terms of performance, crime and safety. It was highlighted that there was an 8% reduction in overall crime in Q4 compared to Q1. At the end of Q2 there were 15 crimes per million passenger journeys in Scotland, which is much lower than the rest of Britain.

In terms of reporting, people are making more use of the text reporting service (particularly females reporting instances of VAWG). Shoplifting was highlighted as a key area of interest at present. A reduction in football related violence was observed, with it being attributed to many factors – including use of Body Worn Video.

British Transport Police and Police Scotland / Joint Working

Members heard some positive examples of joint working between Police Scotland and BTP including a Road Safety Education event held in September 2024 in Edinburgh and a Senior Investigating Officer event in Dunblane in February 2025.

Industry Voice / Joint Planning for Extreme Weather Events

Representatives from Network Rail, Scotrail and BTP outlined the joint arrangements in place to plan for extreme weather events. Members acknowledged the good partnership working between industry and blue light partners. It was highlighted that a review by Network Rail on the lessons learned from Storm Eowyn is taking place, and a multiagency review will launch in March 2025.

Optimised Policing Model in Scotland

A verbal update was received on the Optimised Policing Model programme which seeks to ensure BTP officers are in the right place at the right time with the right skills to meet rising demand. It was acknowledged that the 10 December 2024 budget settlement for BTP fell short of what had been asked for. Planning has since been revised to review what adjustments need to be made in proposed deployment model. Staff association consultation begins tomorrow along with conversations with industry colleagues. Further detail will be provided at the next meeting of the Committee.

Audit and Inspections Update

Members heard an update on Audit and Inspections that BTP are involved in. There are currently 66 open actions relating to HMICFRS/HMICS, 31 from audits, 122 on 4 Action across all of BTP, 16 related to the Angiolini report and 9 actions from ICO.

It was highlighted that BTP met with HMICS in February 2025 with a further meeting planned for May 2025. Regarding the Angiolini Review, requested by the Chief Constable of BTP, work has concluded but the report is not yet published. A thematic briefing will be provided to the Committee once it has been released.

Evaluation Framework

Members agreed to an annual review of the core principles of the Committee, moving away from quarterly reviews. The quarterly reviews will instead be replaced with assessment of the best value themes and any areas of change.

AOB

The Chair expressed thanks to Deputy Chief Constable Alistair Sutherland for their time and input to committee and congratulated them on their retirement.