From the
Oxford Mail:
Full steam ahead for rail police
Oxford^s British Transport Police officers are celebrating a very busy first year since moving on site at the city^s railway station.
In the 12 months since the team took up residence at Oxford Station, charges against abusive rail travellers, thieves, and drunk and disorderly louts have more than trebled, with 51 people arrested and charged last year, compared with 13 the year before.
Three suspects arrested by BTP▸ officers in Oxford over the past year are currently on bail.
Penalty notices for disorder ^ fines of between ^50 and ^80 ^ have also risen with the arrival of the police team. Over the past year they have issued nine, compared to just one in 2010.
Sergeant Adrian Naylor, the officer in charge of Oxford BTP, said: ^Arrests made by the team of four officers have almost quadrupled, which shows that we are able to quickly respond to incidents and deal with suspects efficiently.^
He added: ^Higher figures come as a result of enhanced policing activity by officers, who regularly hold operations and conduct patrols at stations and on trains.^
Successful prosecutions have included the jailing of 23-year-old Dua Noah, from Shirley Place, Jericho, Oxford, who admitted failing to attend a drug-assessment appointment, failing to surrender to court bail, stealing ^13 worth of food from Marks & Spencer, stealing ^185 worth of clothes from Crew Clothing, stealing alcohol from Waitrose in Wallingford, and breaching a suspended sentence.
Noah, who was jailed for 18 months, was arrested by a BTP officer and Police Community Support Officer after being seen helping himself to bottles of wine in the station^s branch of Marks & Spencer. He was already wanted by Thames Valley Police.
The team have also been focusing on bike thieves who target the station^s cycle racks.
Pc Bob Burrowes, also based at Oxford, said: ^We have carried out three high-profile cycle initiatives at Oxford, Didcot and Radley, where we gave out microchips to more than 400 cyclists. The chips, which are unique and registered to an Internet site, are placed inside bicycles meaning they can be returned to their owners if they are recovered after being stolen.^
He added: ^We^ve arrested 10 suspected cycle thieves in the Oxford area and, so far, none of those arrested have come back and been arrested again.
^We have ongoing operations to arrest a further four suspected cycle thieves.
^We also work very closely with First Great Western to maintain the cycle racks, and give out information on how people should lock their bikes up.^
He said one of the team^s biggest successes was the lack of arrests on the rail network during last August^s Oxford United away clash with Swindon, despite more than 1,000 fans travelling to the match by train.
The BTP previously operated a base at Oxford, which closed in 1992 as part of restructuring.
