North Wales rail crime down by 30%

Feb 25 2010 by Martin Williams, North Wales Weekly News

CRIME along the North Wales rail network has been slashed by 30%.

But British Transport Police (BTP) are still on the lookout for offenders responsible for some of the most shocking incidents seen in the region over the past three years.

Figures reveal that arrests at railway stations dropped from 103 in 2007, to 71 in 2009.

Llandudno railway station became the worst in North Wales for arrests with eight last year, compared to seven in Rhyl and four in Colwyn Bay.

However, Rhyl’s total number of arrests, including offenders caught along railway tracks and other locations, was 19, with Llandudno Junction second (10) and Bangor third (nine).

Among those offences were sexual assault, threats to kill, GBH, assault on a police officer and cannabis possession.

Mark Shaw, BTP Inspector for Wales, said he is delighted with the fall in arrests.

He said the improvements included all aspects of “notifiable crime” along railway lines, at stations and rail properties along the coastal network.

“As well as a drop in crime at railway stations we’ve also seen crimes such as assaults and anti-social behaviour go from 223 arrests in 2007/08 to 159 in 2008/09,” said Insp Shaw.

“The figure so far for 2009/10 is 124 and is on track to be lower still than last year.”

Insp Shaw added: “Together with staff working on the stations, communities, agencies and passengers – as well as having a rail network rich with CCTV – we’ve had an impact on crime.

“Sgt Andy Hemmings and the eight PCs and three PCSOs working in North Wales have done very well and now our crime rate is the lowest in all of Wales.”

Despite the positive U-turn, Insp Shaw admitted there were still unsolved crimes they are investigating, notably the incident last June when yobs used a makeshift wrecking ball hung from a railway bridge to try to derail a train.

The weapon, made from a plastic carrier bag filled with bricks, smashed the windscreen of a train after it was suspended from the Rockcliffe bridge in Connah’s Quay on June 13.

The gang struck a second time around 90 minutes later when a brick was again hung from the bridge and smashed the windscreen of a train.

A day later a third train was struck when a gang hurled bricks at the driver’s cab from the same bridge.

“That was a big job for us, it was a terrible incident and could have led to a fatality,” said Insp Shaw.

“Sadly, we did not find the offenders despite our best efforts. We used covert tactics, brought CID in from Cardiff and used forensic strategies. We also went into schools, carried out uniformed and plain clothes patrols in the area and offered a reward – we did all we could.

“Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to identify the offenders but we are still investigating.”

He added: “The number of arrests we make doesn’t worry me as there’s an overall drop in notifiable crime.

“It gives us a flavour of how things are going but it’s not the be all and end all. We want to continue improving.”

Gwilym Bowen, security manager for Arriva Trains Wales, praised the BTP, and said: “Over the past couple of years we have introduced a number of initiatives, such as on board CCTV and co-funding of PCSOs, and these are showing results.”