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British Transport Police (Scottish Area) Primary Inspection

Introduction

i. In February 2000, the British Transport Police Committee invited Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) for Scotland to inspect British Transport Police (BTP) Scottish Area.

ii. The following terms of reference were agreed for the inspection:

• To provide the British Transport Police Committee with a report on the effectiveness of the policing service provided by the British Transport Police, Scottish Area, with particular regard to the railway industry and rail passengers; and
• To examine and report on the effectiveness of the existing interfaces between British Transport Police, Scottish Area and Scottish Police forces, identifying appropriate areas for improvement.

iii. HMIC for Scotland was invited to carry out a similar inspection of BTP Scottish Area in 1996. HMIC for England and Wales, by invitation, inspected BTP in England and Wales in 1998. This inspection complements and follows through on that work.

iv. The force was established by the British Transport Commission Act 1949 as amended by the British Railways Order Confirmation Act 1980. While BTP covers the whole of Great Britain, the Scottish Area operates under a different political and legal system from the rest of the force. It is the practice of the committee to invite HMIC to inspect BTP on a three year cycle, however, a new Area Commander was appointed in 1999 and the inspection was postponed pending consideration of the change.

v. Preliminary work using inspection protocols, structured under the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model, commenced in June 2000, with desktop research which focussed on the 1996 HMIC Inspection of BTP Scottish Area and the 1998 HMIC Inspection of in BTP England and Wales. HMIC also consulted widely with Scottish police forces, staff associations, the Railways Inspectorate, rail passenger groups and key stakeholders in the railway industry, obtaining views on their relationship with BTP Scottish Area and the quality of policing provided.

vi. Pre-inspection visits were carried out between June and August 2000, these consisting of visits to Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberdeen, Kirkcaldy, Glasgow, Paisley and Kilwinning police stations, as well as Area and Force Headquarters. HMIC also met with a number of organisations who offered views during the Inspection.

vii. The formal Inspection visits were carried out by the Assistant Inspector of Constabulary, Mr Graham Power, over 5 days during August 2000 and consisted of visits to Edinburgh, Kirkcaldy, Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Perth and Paisley police stations, as well as the Area Headquarters in Glasgow and the Force Headquarters in London.

viii. Staff at all levels of the organisation were interviewed and provided important contributions to the Inspection. In addition, supporting evidence was provided by
the force, including force plans, policy documents and reports. HMIC gratefully acknowledges the openness, co-operation and courtesy extended to all HMIC staff throughout the inspection.

ix. An inspection is, in essence, an examination at a point in time. The force will have taken issues forward following the inspection and prior to formal publication of the inspection report.

x. HMIC highlights good practice in the body of the report but is not at present
aggregating this into a formal annexe as has been done in previous reports. In the past good practice has not been validated formally by HMIC and thus the comments have been largely subjective. A different approach is currently under consideration by HMIC. This change is not a reflection on the individual force under inspection.

xi. The current inspection was conducted against the backdrop of force restructuring following an internal review, the implementation of a Resource Allocation Formula, the Cullen Inquiry into the Southhall and Ladbroke Grove rail crashes and, a continued growth in rail services and passengers. During the inspection, these issues were examined from a Scottish perspective, however, they will impact on the force as a whole and will require further consideration as part of any future inspection of the force.

xii. Throughout the report, unless otherwise stated, reference and comment relates to the Scottish Area Command and not the force as a whole. The term 'territorial' forces is used to identify the 8 police forces in Scotland provided for from public funds.

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