British Transport Police To Increase Patrols At Local Tube Stations

Visible presence aims to provide reassurance and act as a deterrent

British Transport Police (BTP) officers carried out an operation at Turnham Green Station this Friday (1 February) aimed at reassuring the public by providing a highly visible police presence.

Turnham Green tube station, and its surroundings, along with Chiswick Park underground station, have been the focus of recent criminal activity, as well as being used by criminals to travel into Chiswick from outside the area.

Staff from London Underground Revenue Protection joined the team as part of the campaign to deal with anti social-behaviour and fare dodging.

The transport police were supported by officers from the local Safer Neighbourhood team along with officers from Southfield Ward. They remained present from 2-6 pm engaging with the public and with London Underground staff.

The BTP will carry out a similar operation at Chiswick Park underground station next Monday afternoon (from 4 pm to 8 pm). A young man was recently stabbed in the station concourse by a group of youths who had travelled into the area from east London.

A police spokesman said the public could approach them for a chat or to ask questions at any stage. He said people could feel vulnerable while travelling on public transport at night and there would also be increased police patrols late in the evening.

The BTP would also patrol platforms and travel on trains from time to time.They are also tasked with being present at football matches.

The local BTP team is based in Hammersmith, and consists of one sergeant and nine officers. They cover the area of the District Line as far as Ealing Broadway and Richmond. They also cover the area of the Hammersmith & City line as far as Gospel Oak.

With the recent increase in criminal activity, including knife crime and drug dealing, there has been a significant focus of policing in Chiswick, both uniformed, and undercover.

Operation Stallion and Operation Wolverine are currently in place as part of the emergency police response to the recent increase in muggings and knife attacks. Highly trained officers have been operating in Chiswick recently, with extra back up from the 'Interceptor' teams, who have high powered vehicles for pursuing criminals, and are equipped with tasers.

The Interceptor teams are part of the recent measure introduced by the West Area Basic Command, to be on call 24/7 to respond to emergencies, as a back up to the Rapid Response teams. The police say that the operations are yielding results with several arrests.

A second visible policing operation was due to be carried out at Chiswick Park Station.

An update on policing in the area with the most recent crime statistics, will be presented at the Chiswick Area Forum meeting on Tuesday, 5 February, at Chiswick Town Hall at 7 pm.

February 28, 2019