Here is an example of how effective partnerships between organisations and young people can help support a national campaign to save lives.
The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) commissioned a rail industry questionnaire in 2007/8 about the community engagement strategies of Train Operating Companies (TOCs). The findings highlighted that many TOCs struggled with youth engagement within the communities they served. The practice of youth engagement was often sporadic and reactive following an incident or fatality.
Research and intelligence revealed that railway crime and tackling its consequences costs the rail industry over £260 million every year and that a high percentage of criminal acts are committed by young people. Furthermore, British Transport Police (BTP) now estimates that there are 10 million cases of rail trespass every year by children under 16 years of age. National data intelligence provided by Police forces across the UK, shows that children (especially boys between 9- 11 years of age) are responsible for a growing proportion of youth crime.
As a result the financial impact for the rail users, who in total made just over 1.2 billion journeys in 2007/8, is startling. The figures do not include lost income or measure the inconvenience that commuters suffer due to delays but reveal that rail crime adds 22p to every passenger journey made in the UK. Following these findings CPS developed a national programme on behalf of Serco Integrated Transport and the British Transport Police.
The programme used our established expertise in youth and community engagement to develop a national programme to reflect the rail industry's rail safety message. The strategy encouraged the rail industry to create a cohesive, unified, proactive approach to youth engagement. It recommended that they established a partnership with a youth organisation that would echo the industry's core values and deliver the rail safety message to the heart of the communities they serve. Doing this would generate a sustainable community awareness campaign that would encourage peer-to-peer education amongst young people, empower communities to help in crime reduction and help reduce the financial impact on the rail industry.
In order to deliver a cohesive national programme with advice from Community Partnership Solutions, both Serco and the British Transport Police developed educational websites with free downloadable resources for teachers. In addition CPS helped in the creation of a partnership with the Scout Association whereby Serco sponsored the Cub Scout's Personal Safety Badge.
This inclusive approach ensured that both Serco and BTP could successfully reflect their core values and provide a structure to deliver a very important message at a national level. The Scouting movement represents 1.5million children and associated families, therefore just in sheer numbers alone it made them great allies and potential ‘Rail Safety Ambassadors'.
The key to ensure success was to encourage other TOCs and the British Transport Police Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs) to use this youth engagement programme at a local, personal level. The contact details of all the participating rail companies and NPTs have been placed on the education websites of both Serco and British Transport Police and the Scout website in order that teachers and Scout leaders can locate their nearest contact.
So far 17 Train Operating Companies and all the BTP Neighbourhood Policing Teams have signed up to the programme. All participants have been provided with a script and delivery plan, to ensure that the safety messages presented are concise and consistent. This unique programme is now also being developed in both Dubai and Australia. The simplicity in its delivery together with ensuring that all participants have been involved in its creation has empowered each party to take ownership of this sustainable programme.
For further information regarding the initiatives please go to: Serco TeachingZone (www.teachingzone.org/serco)
