Mayoral proposals for the establishment of a Transport Operational Command Unit

Report: 9
Date: 24 January 2002
By: Commissioner

Summary

The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and the Commissioner for Transport for London (TfL) have agreed in principle to explore the feasibility of setting up a Transport Operational Command Unit (OCU) and its attendant infrastructure, financed entirely by TfL. The proposed unit will have specific responsibility for policing agreed bus corridors on the London bus network and addressing associated criminal and anti-social behaviour, as well as taxi and private hire vehicle enforcement. In order to progress matters a Co-ordinating Group has been created to assist management and delivery of the proposed programme and to oversee the negotiation of a Special Services Agreement with TfL.

A. Recommendations

Members are asked to:

1. Note the report.
2. Allow MPS officers to be authorised to negotiate a draft Special Services Agreement with TfL .
3. Note that a further report, together with the draft Special Services Agreement will be presented to this Committee at a later date.

B. Supporting information

1. The MPS have received a request from Transport for London (TfL) to provide additional police, traffic wardens and auxiliaries for policing safe corridors on the London bus Network. This is a key element in the Mayor’s transport strategy in the period leading up to congestion charging and beyond. Several hundred personnel would be involved and the provisional cost for this would be in the region of £25m per annum, funded entirely by TfL. It is envisaged that additional benefits accruing from the proposal would be in the form of higher visibility of police officers to the public and an attendant reduction in crime and anti social behaviour.

2. Three key objectives have been set for the proposed OCU:

• More efficient movement of buses on agreed bus corridors.
• The public feel more safe using bus services, the local waiting/alighting environment and the roads on agreed corridors.
• More robust enforcement of the law relating to taxi and private hire vehicles.

These objectives not only involve dealing with illegally parked vehicles on designated routes but also targeting those routes associated with criminal and anti-social behaviour problems.

Operational considerations - command and control

3. It is intended that the OCU will be managed by a Superintendent answerable to the Commander, Pan-London Units, who is also responsible for the MPS Traffic OCU. London Buses have five operational Areas covering London. Each of these Areas would have a police inspector responsible for the designated bus corridors in the Area, with each of the corridors having a dedicated team managed by a sergeant. The Areas would also have a task force to assist the dedicated teams in the event of incidents occurring which are beyond the limit of their resources.

4. Under the proposed agreement the OCU would have its own control room, linked with TfL and the MPS Traffic Control. The final configuration is subject to further discussion and evaluation. It would also be the intention to create an intelligence unit combining units from SENECA, cab enforcement, the Transport OCU, and London Buses.

Staffing

5. The number of officers and civilian staff that could be provided under the agreement is constrained by a number of factors, not least the level of funding available from TfL. A cautious approximation of the establishment level is as follows:

Police

210

Traffic Wardens

280

Civilian staff

40

Total

530

6. The level of staff able to be deployed under the proposal will ultimately depend on the level of service able to be delivered within the resources made available by TfL.

The way forward

7. An Implementation Group, chaired by Commander Shave, has been set up, with several subordinate teams dealing with different aspects of the proposal. As stated below (see Financial Implications) the level of service which can be provided from the resources allocated by TfL will become clearer as the work of the Implementation Group progresses. The intended outcome will be a Special Services Agreement which clearly defines measurable outputs from the Transport OCU and the framework under which the financial and operational aspects of the OCU will operate.

Summary

8. The proposed initiative is intended to achieve high visibility policing in the busiest parts of London with the potential to assist in the reduction of crime levels, as well as improving the movement of buses. If considered to be successful by TfL, it would be their ultimate intention to roll it out to all routes and the underground. If this were to be the case, the impact on the public perception of street policing and the actual impact on crime could be substantial. Clearly, any such proposals would require separate negotiations and assurances of funding from TfL and will need to be the subject of separate consideration by the MPA if and when such proposals are brought forward.

Legal implications

9. Counsel’s opinion was sought to establish whether the Metropolitan Police Service were empowered to charge for services provided to Transport for London. Counsel has advised that (i) the MPS does have the power to charge for, and recover costs of enforcement, from TfL under section 25 of the Police Act 1996 and (ii) that the extent and nature of, and the reasons for, the provision of additional manpower and resources should be clearly set out in a Special Services Agreement.

C. Financial implications

1. Due to the limited time available prior to budget setting, TfL were provided with an estimated figure for the proposed service as outlined by them, and based upon the information available at the time. It was estimated that the start up and running costs during 2002/03 would not exceed £25 m., with annual running costs from 2003/04 of £25 m., including pension and step-change recruitment costs. In order to protect the financial position of the MPS, the service would be delivered on the basis that there would be no costs falling on the MPS, and the level of service delivered to TfL would be tailored accordingly.

2. Subject to an agreed intention to proceed, estimates for the service will be refined by the Finance Directorate, in consultation with Operational Units. The proposed Special Services Agreement (See paragraph 7) - which would provide a framework for the management of financial and operational relationships with TfL - will then be drafted. It is envisaged that negotiations will then take place with TfL following which the draft Agreement will be referred to the MPA’s legal advisers. The draft Agreement will then be brought to a subsequent meeting of this committee for final approval.

D. Background papers

None.

E. Contact details

Report authors: Commander Alan Shave (Territorial Policing)/Brendan Arnold (Finance)

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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