​New band of officers policing Great Northern, Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express

Great Northern and Thameslink have beefed up their security at stations and on-board rail services by introducing a team of 22 rail enforcement officers (REOs) with almost as many Special Constables working across the entire Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) network that also includes Southern and Gatwick Express.

The REOs are patrolling along the Great Northern route between London and Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and Kings Lynn and on the Thameslink route between London St Pancras, Elstree & Borehamwood, Luton and Bedford.

They complement the work of the British Transport Police, which GTR co-funds, and the two organisations are currently working together on an operation targeting bike theft at St Albans and other stations nearby during the day as well as patrolling certain overnight Thameslink services.

Adam Dear, Rail Enforcement Manager, said:

“There is very little crime on our railways but it’s important to provide our passengers with a reassuring presence. Our REOS are an active force against low level crime and anti-social behaviour, reducing anti-social behaviour and help build an even safer rail network.”

All the REOs have police radios and are set to be issued with body-worn closed-circuit TV cameras. They are qualified with specific legal powers that allow the confiscation of substances such as alcohol and cigarettes from young people. They can request names and addresses for fixed penalty notices and offences likely to cause harm or distress to another person or cause damage to their property or acting in an anti-social way.

The idea for REOs came from Southern and Gatwick Express, which have a similar group of award-winning officers known as Rail Neighbourhood Officers patrolling their part of the network. GTR is also sponsoring up to 20 employees to become Special Constables on these two routes as well as the Thameslink and Great Northern and already have 15 trained and fully operational across its network. The Specials have the same policing powers as any full-time police officer.

As part of this scheme successful employees are given paid release to complete 27 days of police training and are then given one day off a month to work as a Special Constable on the network.

Security Manager Tony Holland is spearheading the specials initiative within GTR and has himself become a Special.

Tony said: “This demonstrates our commitment to provide a more secure environment for passengers and rail staff which is all about reducing the risk of people becoming the victims of crime.”

Ends

For more information email press.office@gtrailway.com or call

Southern and Gatwick Express press office: 0203 750 2030

Thameslink and Great Northern press office: 0203 750 2031

Govia Thameslink Railway

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services as follows:

Thameslink – services between Bedford and Brighton, Luton/St Albans and Sutton, Wimbledon and Sevenoaks

Great Northern – services between London and Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn

Southern – services between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)

Gatwick Express – Fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria

GTR is now the largest rail franchise in the UK in terms of passenger numbers, trains, revenue and staff: GTR carries about 326 million passenger journeys per year, employs around 6,500 people and generates annual passenger revenues of approximately £1.3bn.

The GTR investment programme for stations includes funding for more CCTV, toilet refurbishments, new retail facilities, help points and car park improvements – as well as plans for increased motorcycle storage and improved transport integration.

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