Are you a member of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith’s secret police? Or of the former Communist East German Stasi?
Strong words, but such was the front page of the Daily Mail on August 27. It complained that security guard and town hall ‘jobsworths’ could issue fines, if their organisation was part of the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS). What made the headline so odd was not only that the story is years old; at the same time, government figures suggested that the CSAS has rather fizzled out.
Under Section 40 of the Police Reform Act 2002 chief constables in England and Wales can accredit CSAS in their force area. They could be neighbourhood wardens, security guards, park rangers, hospital and university security staff, fire and rescue service personnel, housing association staff, environmental health officers and parking attendants. Accredited Persons (APs) are identified by a standardised badge, and deal with specific nuisances such as dog fouling, cycling on the pavement, and litter. Under the 2002 Act, chief constables can set which police-style powers accredited persons have. Those powers cannot include arrest. The accreditation might though allow you to give penalty notices for disorder or similar offence – so to that end you would have the power to ask for name and address. Some large guarding companies have taken up CSAS – VSG and G4S, to name two. Yet Home Office figures show only half – 23 – police forces have signed up at all to CSAS. British Transport Police and Essex have the most signings-up, but that is not saying much; nationally 19 private companies have got CSAS, covering 1406 staff. Once the SIA’s approved contractor scheme (ACS) came in, Professional Security wondered aloud if it would clash with CSAS. The answer seems to be that the guarding market has spoken and embraced ACS. Even the SIA says ACS has taken off more than it expected. More than 500 companies are approved, mainly for guarding, followed by key-holding.
CSAS has had some things not going for it. One ACS-approved guarding company ops man described the CSAS logo to Professional Security as ‘two sofas having a fight’. Even before those searing headlines accusing accredited officers of being secret police, the ops man made the point that money from fines went to the government – so what was in it for the accredited company? And plainly many police forces have decided that setting up CSAS would take more trouble than their likely income. Even if police had embraced the CSAS, employers whose staff cross force boundaries might reasonably have held back from the potential difficulties between forces, if one chief constable gave accredited persons powers that a neighbouring chief denied.
ACPO CPI Ltd, a company owned by the Association of Chief Police Officers acting on behalf of chief constables, was nominated by ACPO to do the assessment of private sector companies seeking approval. As ACPO has said: “It is widely accepted that uniform presence on the streets and other public places has long ceased to be the sole preserve of police officers and public demand for uniformed foot patrols shows no sign of abating. As a consequence, the last decade has witnessed the expansion of privately funded security patrols on our estates and in our shopping centres.”
What do you get for your accreditation (and the time and trouble to get the badging)? The ‘Respect’ part of the Home Office website puts it like this: “Accreditation isn’t just about forming partnerships on a strategic level. It also improves information sharing and communication between police officers, PCSOs and non-police employees working in community safety on a day-to-day basis. Although accredited persons continue to be under the direction and control of their employer, they often co-operate and interact with police officers on joint operations.”
The stats above come from a Community Safety Accreditation Schemes national audit, carried out by the Home Office, released in August. It shows the take-up of the CSAS and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) schemes in police forces, including the number of approved organisations and accredited persons.
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/community-policing/csas-national-audit
For the background to the ACS, on the SIA website:
http://www.the-sia.org.uk/home/acs/acs_overview.htm
And the Daily Mail ‘secret police’ front page story:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1049520/Jacqui-Smiths-secret-police-Now-jobsworths-demand-details-issue-fines.html
It’s of note that a police force with a national remit, British Transport Police (BTP), has compared with other forces embraced CSAS. For instance BTP and Southeastern’s Railway Enforcement Officers (REOs) can now contact one another immediately should the need arise, thanks to shared access to the police radio network.
BTP is responsible for policing the railways, and Southeastern’s REOs are trained and accredited by BTP to carry out patrols, to deter and deal with fare evasion and anti-social behaviour on trains and stations, and to provide a reassuring presence for passengers.
There are now 60 REOs deployed across the Southeastern network, introduced in November 2005. Until now, liaison between them has been by mobile phone or landline, but the two-way radios will enhance response times and eliminate poor reception. Calls for emergency help, reports of suspicious vehicles, persons or packages; assaults and crimes being committed can be made instantly. And joint operations between BTP and REOs, often acting on intelligence to tackle specific problems, are now easier to action.
Southeastern’s radio control will be centrally run from its CCTV suite in central London, so that again details of suspicious incidents can be swiftly communicated to officers nearby. The protocol for operating the system was signed off on July 3 at BTP headquarters in Camden Road, London, when Assistant Chief Constable Alan Pacey and London South Area Commander Chief Superintendent Steve Morgan were joined by Southeastern’s Head of Crime and Security, Paul Nicholas, and several REOs for the ceremony.
Mr Nicholas, for Southeastern, said: "Our REOs have been an outstanding success since this franchise became the first to join the Rail Safety Accreditation Scheme and set a benchmark for better security. Access to the Airwave radio system will help them to work even more closely with British Transport Police in dealing with the minority of people who try to spoil using our railway for the law-abiding majority. The safety of our passengers and staff is paramount."
ACC Pacey, for BTP, added: "This new link between our officers and members of accredited rail staff is an important step forward in ensuring we can respond as quickly as possible to incidents on the railway. By giving access to the Airwave radio system, rail staff can now have instant contact with police officers when reporting and dealing with crime. My hope is that this will build upon the already well established links between BTP and Southeastern with the possibility of a similar protocol with other rail industry partners."
British Transport Police has teamed up with South West Trains in a £1.8m project. It involves the formation of Rail Community teams which will see specialist accredited rail staff working side-by-side police officers at stations on the SWT network.
A team of 40 accredited Rail Community Officers will be based at Raynes Park, Richmond, Staines, Guildford, Portsmouth, Southampton and Bournemouth. Each team will work alongside a BTP police constable, overseen by an area Sergeant and overall Inspector. Each RCO has passed the ‘accreditation’ course, endorsed by the Association of Chief Police Officers, which means they are given a range of additional powers including:
*Issuing British Transport Police penalty notices for offences such as trespass and graffiti;
*The power to seize alcohol from underage drinkers
*Dealing with anti-social behaviour
The RCOs are the successors to South West Trains’ award-winning TravelSafe Officers, which were the first of their kind in the country.
BTP Chief Superintendent Steve Morgan and South West Trains’ Chairman, Ian Dobbs, visited Richmond station today to officially launch the new RCOs.
CS Morgan said: "This scheme is a fantastic enhancement of BTP’s policing presence on the railway and will provide further reassurance for passengers.
"By having specific teams targeting dedicated lines of route, passengers can be assured of seeing a higher visibility presence on the South West Trains system which we believe will make great inroads in further reducing crime."
Ian Dobbs, South West Trains’ Chairman, said: "We take safety and security on our network very seriously and we believe this new scheme will improve both the travelling environment for our passengers and the working environment for our employees. Complementary policing has moved on since the introduction of our innovative TravelSafe Officers scheme in 2002 and we were very much in need of a team with additional powers to deal with the issues which our officers can sometimes be faced with. Each team has a dedicated British Transport Police officer who will work alongside the Rail Community Officers in a supporting role. As more officers complete their training over the coming months passengers should notice a real difference."
About RCOs
The RCO project is funded by South West Trains and repesents a £18m security investment.
The RCOs are recruited and trained by South West Trains and British Transport Police in partnership.
The Rail Community Officers’ main role is to enforce the Railway Byelaws and provide support and assistance to passengers and staff ensuring that travelling with South West Trains is as safe as possible.
They will also take part in police operations to catch offenders and go into local schools to warn children of the problems caused by trespassing on the railway and anti-social behaviour on trains.
RCOs will each receive six weeks training which includes conflict management, reporting incidents, police procedures, disability awareness and customer service.
