DEALING WITH WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2019 :: RMTnews 12 With knife crime and violence making headlines across the UK, a national campaign has been launched to prevent violent crime on the rail network. The “Focused on your safety” campaign is the work of British Transport Police, alongside the RMT and train operating companies. The message from police is simple – we’re here for you and we’re looking out for you, whether you see us or not. Head of Campaigns at BTP, Amy Lees, explains: “With violence so firmly on the national agenda at the moment, we knew it was important to deter any would-be offenders on the network and reassure both passengers and staff that we’re committed to keeping them safe. “So, with that in mind, we felt it was vital to increase our visibility across the country with very striking and visual messages highlighting the variety of tactics we’re using to be on the lookout for would-be offenders.” Members will have started to see the neon signage, with phrases like “We are here” emblazoned across them. The posters and digital screens are already rolled out across London, and other operating companies are starting to use them up and down the UK. Last year, there were around 11,700 violent offences on trains and at stations in England, Scotland and Wales. And while no assault is acceptable, 63% of those were classified as common assault – which resulted in no injury to the victim. Police are also keen to stress that the chances of becoming a victim of crime whilst travelling or working on the network remain extremely low. On average, there are just 19 recorded crimes for every million passenger journeys – and less than one journey in a million involves any kind of violence. Paul Furnell, Head of Crime and Public Protection at BTP said: “But any increase in violence is a concern to us and so, as part of our national violence reduction strategy, we’re reviewing all of our measures on how we tackle it head on. “Our aim is to reduce serious violence and knife-enabled crime against passengers, rail staff and BTP employees by at least 10 per cent,” he said. The public campaign is just one arm of the wider strategy, which has been coined Operation Sentinel by BTP, and is planned alongside RMT and the operating companies at the regular workplace violence board. The Force is working hard to ensure officers and other resources are targeting the areas where they’re most needed, and where they’ll have the best effect in preventing crime. They’re also ensuring that any offenders are arrested and brought to justice. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that for many years the rail industry had taken their eye off the ball on the problem of staff assaults and this has led to an unacceptable increase in incidents involving RMT members. RMT’s campaign to have a rail industry body with a focus on preventing staff assaults has been taken up by BTP who Chair the Work-Related Violence Strategic Group. RMT is committed to work with the industry to reduce violence against our members. One of the strategic aims of the group is to ensure that no matter where the victim of a violent assault works, or for which company they work for, they will be dealt with in the same professional way by both their employer and the BTP. HEALTH AND SAFETY CONFERENCE RMT has chosen workplace violence as our theme for the 2020 National Health and Safety Advisory Conference in February next year and delegates will all be offered a training course which will give them new skills to assist members who have been victims of violence in their work. More crucially these skills will also enable them to work with their employer to reduce the likelihood of an attack on individual members. RMT supports the “Focused on your safety” campaign which we believe is a positive step in tackling work place violence. Getting the message across to staff and passengers that violence on railway staff is not acceptable will start to see reducing the levels of violent assault on Britain’s railways. DEALING WITH WORKPLACE VIOLENCE RMT’s campaign for a rail industry body to prevent staff assaults taken up by British Transport Police