Case Study Birmingham

‘Operation Fanfire’ tackles bus stop crime

The Birmingham City Centre Bus Patrols were designed to deal with problems identified at bus stops and on buses. The pilot scheme resulted in such a massive drop in crime – and the fear of it – that funding has been granted to re-launch and extend the project.

Prior to the pilot problems identified at specific bus stops in Birmingham were a high rate of crime and anti-social behaviour and an increased fear of crime. Senior citizens and other vulnerable groups in particular were feeling intimidated at certain times of the day, and some were too frightened to risk using the buses at all. Retailers complained of reduced footfall due to queuing and unruly behaviour and littering across shop entrances that were in the vicinity of affected bus stops.

The same problems appeared after the pilot - when the project was down - before its re-launch.

Establishing ‘Operation Fanfire’

A meeting held with police staff to review crime statistics, patterns and profiles, showed that the peak time for reported incidents was 15.30 to 18.30. Incidents generally occurred between 15.00 and 20.30. Following meetings with key stakeholders a need for specific resources was agreed.

A successful funding bid was made via the Community Safety Partnership, which established bus patrols with four officers on Mondays to Saturdays from 15.00 to 22.30, called ‘Operation Fanfire’.

High-visibility patrolling

Patrols wear ‘Bus Patrol’ tabards for clear identification. Their aim is to provide high-visibility patrolling, which reduces crime and the fear of it; to deter anti-social behaviour and instil some discipline to bus queuing; to engage with young people and particularly vulnerable groups; and to gather intelligence on which schools or colleges the young people were attending.

Intelligence gathered allowed the police to target their school visits to discuss personal safety and how students’ involvement in crime and anti-social behaviour can impact on their own and others’ futures. An underlying aim is to foster social inclusion.

Robberies reduced by 53 per cent

Since the scheme was introduced, robberies were reduced by 53 per cent with no displacement to other city centre bus stops. Violent crime has been reduced by 24 per cent, which exceeds the Public Service Agreement target PSA1 for crime reduction and supports the PSA2 target to reassure the public and reduce the fear of crime.

When the operation ceased at the end of March 2006, crime rates gradually returned to their former levels. Consequently, a bid for funding was successful, providing an increased budget of £74,000 for 2006/7.

Close cooperation

The scheme has helped forge a stronger partnership between the police, police community support officers (PCSOs) and street wardens, with the latter helping to deal with issues around litter, graffiti and the distribution of free literature.

The close cooperation has changed the culture from a situation where intelligence between police and wardens was exchanged occasionally to a situation were this is now the norm.

The bus stops now have effective guardianship deterring offenders and creating a safer environment, which it is hoped will ultimately result in an increase in the use of public transport as a safe and realistic option of travel between the city centre and outlying districts.

Independent evaluation undertaken

As the project was coming to an end an independent evaluation was undertaken. The patrols were highly rated by the public and had made an impact on reducing crime and anti-social behaviour as well as making people feel safer.

Of those interviewed, 44 per cent believed patrols kept ‘an eye on the street’ and helped people feel safer, while 25 per cent said they prevented crime and 53 per cent thought that they improved people’s sense of well-being. Overall, 83 per cent felt safer at bus stops.

The police were very pleased with the positive and measurable outcomes, as were retailers as the problems outside their stores were reduced. Graffiti and flyposting is now virtually non-existent, littering is reduced and anti-social behaviour is less frequent. The streets look managed, the atmosphere at bus stops more controlled and a lot safer.

Extending the partnership

The partnership has been extended to link with the Safer Travel initiative to develop a whole journey safety strategy for bus users. Strong links have also been made with those schools and colleges whose students regularly travel through the city centre, with priority given to those educational establishments whose pupils have been most involved in crime or anti-social behaviour or have been the victims of either.

The links with the street wardens, the council’s Environmental Crime Unit in regulatory services and CCTV operations centre will be further strengthened with the sharing of intelligence and joint tasking.

Discussions are being held with the Community Safety Partnership, the police, Centro (bus regulator) and bus operators with a view to extending the scheme in both the city centre and at local centres across the city.

CCTV headcams have recently been deployed and are now regularly used by the Bus Patrols with the prospect of streaming the images in real time to the police operations centre via a meshed wi-fi system to be operational by May 2007.

The targets for the future are to further reduce robbery by 15 per cent, theft from the person by 22 per cent and violent crime by 18 per cent.

For more information, please contact City Centre Operations Manager, James Kelly at james.s.kelly@birmingham.gov.uk