TRANSPORT POLICE CUTS NOT SAFE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: sept/oct 2025 :: RMTnews 11 T he London Assembly Transport Committee has backed calls for urgent action by Transport for London on fare evasion and staff safety to tackle the rising levels of violence against frontline transport workers. RMT welcomed the fact that the committee linked fare evasion with staff assaults and highlighted the urgent need for more frontline staff, properly resourced enforcement and serious consequences for those who attack transport workers at work. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that tackling fare evasion was the biggest trigger for staff assaults and welcomed the London Assembly Transport Committee’s call for more frontline resources and real consequences for those who attack our members at work. “We need to end lone working, increase staffing across the network, stop the dangerous cuts to the British Transport Police, and put in place stronger legal protections for transport workers who face violence just for doing their jobs. “Our recent survey shows that 60 per cent of rail staff who have been assaulted were working alone at the time. That is simply unacceptable,” he said. RMT is demanding an end to lone working on the rail and tube network and increased staffing at stations to ensure safety for workers and passengers. RMT has condemned planned cuts to the British Transport Police (BTP) as a serious threat to the safety of rail staff, particularly those working alone on trains and at stations. The £8.5 million funding shortfall facing the BTP this year could result in the closure of police stations and the loss of around 600 posts including 200 filled roles. As a result of the funding shortfall, 13 BTP stations could close by April next year and some have already closed. Those under threat included Carmarthen, Grimsby, Lancaster, Middlesborough, Southport, Stoke, Taunton, Dumbarton, Dundee, Perth, Bromley, Gatwick and Richmond. The BTP’s workplace violence coordination unit which is tasked with addressing assaults and abuse of staff, is being disbanded entirely, with its work either ending or handed off to other departments. At the same time the BTP is forecasting a nearly 30 per cent rise in crime on the railway between March 2025 and next March. The cuts are also expected to cause 250,000 additional delay minutes, adding cost and disruption to services yet the £8.5 million shortfall equals just 0.03 per cent of the railway’s total annual expenditure. The union said that all this would leave frontline rail staff exposed to rising levels of violence, harassment, and anti-social behaviour, with reduced or non-existent police response on much of the network. The impact is most acute for staff at stations and onboard trains, where RMT members already report regular verbal abuse, threats, and physical assault. Planned cuts in Scotland are so severe that large swathes of the country will have little to no BTP coverage whatsoever. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that the cuts will severely impact the safety of rail workers and the travelling public. “Station staff and train crews are being left to deal with violent and abusive passengers without adequate BTP support, often late at night, in isolated locations, and with no backup. “BTP’s own figures show a sharp rise in crime across the network, yet the response is to slash officer numbers, close stations, and disband the very unit dealing with workplace violence. “The scheduled closures in Scotland are particularly worrying with large parts of the country having no nearby BTP support. “There was a time when BTP officers would patrol stations and trains regularly providing a sense of security for staff and passengers. Now our members report that BTP will only attend the most serious of emergencies. “Our union opposes these reckless cuts and demands immediate action to restore BTP staffing, reinstate protection for rail workers, and ensure our members can do their jobs without fear of abuse or attack,” he said. TRANSPORT POLICE CUTS NOT SAFE BTP cuts leave rail workers and passengers exposed to violence LONDON ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE BACKS TRANSPORT WORKERS “BTP’s own figures show a sharp rise in crime across the network, yet the response is to slash officer numbers, close stations and disband the very unit dealing with workplace violence”