Train Operating Companies

Incidents of assault and abuse doubled from 2001 to 2005*

Staff working on the UK's railways all too commonly receive verbal, racial and physical threats from abusive and disgruntled customers.  In 2005 alone there were 2,129 physical assaults on rail workers and a similar number of reported verbal assaults*.  Those who handle cash are additionally targets for theft, being particularly vulnerable when they are on trains or away from secure areas.

According to the RMT the incidents of assaults and abuse across the rail network doubled from 2001 to 2005.  Assaults on passengers, the workforce and members of the public currently constitute 15.2% of the total risk posed by railway crime.  In September 2004, it was estimated that the cost to the industry was around £260 million per year, and created 538 days of delay to trains per year.  According to the ‘Railway Crime Safety Performance Report’, published in September 2005, there has been an increase in the number of attacks on railway staff, with the British Transport Police reporting a 14.2% rise in the amount of violent crime on the London Underground transport system alone.

The report ‘Reducing assaults on railway staff’ was commissioned to gain an understanding of the true extent of the problem. Results of this research showed:

• 88% of staff said that they had experienced an assault (including verbal abuse) in the last six months
• 65% said that they had experienced a physical assault
• About half of those surveyed experienced verbal abuse at least several times a week
• Over 10% of staff are threatened with an assault, or experience a non-violent physical assault, several times a week

Research findings from ‘Assessing the cost of assaults’ showed that the annual cost of assaults on the rail network to the British society was estimated to be £168m of which only £12m is borne directly by the rail industry.

The implications of these incidents for the Transport Sector include:

• Significant revenue losses and delays in transport services
• Recruitment and retention of staff
• Poor staff morale
• Poor public perception
• Days lost through illness caused by stress or injury
• Potential court preceedings

Rail workers at risk include...

• Fares Collectors – especially vulnerable to robbery and assault.
• Train inspectors - especially vulnerable to verbal and physical assault, which is heightened when operating late at night.
• Train Station Staff - receive verbal, racial and physical threats from abusive and disgruntled customers on a daily basis. Those station personnel who handle cash are potential targets for theft, and are especially vulnerable when they are away from the secure counters.

SoloProtect benefits for the rail sector

• Identicom, worn by the fare collectors, inspectors and station staff, provides for a visible deterrent, whilst enabling the discreet raising of an alarm, in case of an incident of verbal or physical abuse.
• GSM technology incorporated into the units enables Identicom to operate anywhere that a mobile phone can and does not restricted worker protection to particular parts of the train or specific areas of a station site.
• SoloProtect's 24 hour monitoring centre is always available to monitor and react to a red alert, ensuring an appropriate and proportional response.
• The open voice channel created when an alarm is raised can be recorded and therefore provides the means by which to capture incidents of verbal and racial abuse.
• This, legally admissable, recording can offer evidence that protects the lone worker from receiving accusations of mis-conduct from abusive persons.
• On a station or trains fitted with video surveilance, SoloProtect provides an audio capture to support CCTV footage during an incident.
• The operating company can monitor the effectiveness and utilisation of SoloProtect services through regular reports and proactive advise from SoloProtect.
• Professional training is included, that is critical to ensuring that staff can use the SoloProtect service and the Identicom device confidently and correctly.

* Source: Rail Safety & Standards Board, Railway Crime Safety Performance Report, July 2006