THE time for talking is over \u2013 politicians must act to support policing now, the British Transport Police Federation Conference has heard.<\/p>\n
Federation Chairman Nigel Goodband told delegates that if ministers truly cared about keeping the public safe, they would make sure that forces, including the BTP, are properly funded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a major incident occurs, we have all seen the politicians rushing to tell everyone how proud they are of Britain\u2019s police, how brave and wonderful they are. Great, thanks for that!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut where are those same politicians when Chief Officers up and down the country are telling them that the cuts they are imposing are affecting front line services? These cuts are reducing the number of officers available to protect the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrime is back on the increase, particularly violent crime on the railways – I am tired of listening to politicians of all persuasions who don\u2019t seem to understand policing.<\/p>\n
Counter terrorism funding for the BTP was a case in point he said. The Home Secretary recently announced an extra \u00a3101m to combat terrorism but the BTP won\u2019t receive a penny of that money, even though transport hubs are often top targets.<\/p>\n
\u201cNearly every terrorist incident in recent years has occurred within our jurisdiction. The BTP is expected to deal with this,\u201d he told delegates at the conference in Edinburgh.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many people realise that the BTP is the only public facing police force that does not receive any money from the government for fighting terrorism?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have, quite rightly, introduced our own counter terrorism unit and this unit will help to keep the travelling public safe but we have received zero, nada, nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
It means that the force has had to cut services in other areas and will now be left with one control room to oversee BTP operations across England, Wales and Scotland, leaving it at risk of being \u2018dreadfully exposed\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, to politicians I say, enough of your words – talking may be what you do best, but the time for talking is over, now is a time for doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you value policing and if you value the BTP, then make sure we have the proper funding to keep the travelling public safe from terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nigel also said the number of assaults being carried out on officers (on average 15 officers are assaulted every week) were unacceptable. He believes more funds could aid the situation but was grateful for the support offered by the force<\/p>\n
\u201cChief Constable, thank you for your support on spit guards. Thank you for your commitment to issuing Taser and Body Worn Video, please know, we absolutely do value this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you also for the review you are carrying out on assaults on police. We look forward to any measures that will help reduce assaults on our members.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we do recognise that this is also a funding issue. These protections come at a cost and you need the necessary budget to meet your commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n
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