The Roads and Transport Policing Command, formerly the Safer Transport Command and Transport Operational Command Unit, is a unit of the
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
that polices roads,
buses
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
, bus routes,
taxis and minicabs. It does not police
national railways in London,
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
,
Docklands Light Railway or
Tramlink, which fall under the remit of the
British Transport Police (BTP).
Formed in 2002 as a joint venture with
Transport for London (TfL), it consolidated several existing policing operations. The OCU also has Special Constables working alongside regular officers in all areas of the command.
The Unit maintains a joint command and control centre with
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...
called MetroComm, which is also the command and control centre of the Traffic Operational Command Unit.
In response to a survey conducted by TfL, which showed that 15% of women using public transport in London had been the subject of some form of unwanted sexual behaviour but that 90% of incidents went unreported, the Safer Transport Command—in conjunction with the BTP,
City of London Police
The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, ou ...
, and TfL—launched
Project Guardian
Project Guardian is a joint initiative between British Transport Police (BTP), the Metropolitan Police Service ("the Met"), the City of London Police, and Transport for London (TfL), which aims to combat and increase reporting of sexual harassm ...
, which aimed to reduce sexual offences and increase reporting.
Operational history
On 1 April 2009, Transport OCU became part of
Territorial Policing
The Metropolitan Police of Greater London is organised into four main directorates, each with differing responsibilities. These are Frontline Policing (formerly Territorial Policing), Met Operations (formerly Specialist Crime & Operations), Spe ...
. On 29 September 2009, Transport OCU became known as the Safer Transport Command.
On 1 December 2014, the Safer Transport Command and the Traffic Operational Command Unit were merged to create the Roads & Transport Policing Command (RTPC). RTPC provides the MPS with a single, combined command unit responsible for policing the capital's roads and transport network.
References
External links
Safer Transport Command official websiteRoads & Transport Policing Command official website
Metropolitan Police units
Transport authorities in London
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