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 The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Londo ...

Tramlink London Trams, previously Tramlink and Croydon Tramlink, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It began operation in 2000, the first tram system in the London region since 1952. It is manage ...

, which fall under the remit of the

British Transport Police , nativename = , abbreviation = BTP , patch = , patchcaption = , logo = British Transport Police Logo.svg , logocaption = Logo of the British Transport Police , badge = , badgecaption = , f ...

(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. 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 {{UK-law-enforcement-agency-stub