Our team of around 30 Rail Community Officers (RCOs) spend their shifts on trains and stations across the network keeping our customers and colleagues safe and providing extra help and customer service wherever it’s needed. As the busy festive period is now upon us, the team has been bolstered by additional agency staff to ensure that our customers have a safe Christmas on the railway.
RCO Lukasz Golunski said: “We’ve been supporting the teams at Winchester with the Christmas markets helping with crowd control and customer service. We’ve also been advising customers on personal safety, reminding them to secure their personal belongings and luggage and to look out for pickpockets.”
The RCO team come from a wide range of backgrounds and varied careers, some like Martin Porter have a background in policing, whereas others such as Noor Arzomand have experience on the railway. Noor said: “When I was on the gateline at Waterloo I was aware of the work the RCOs did, and I always knew about the importance of safeguarding, particularly looking out for children who might be missing. I was eager to join the RCO team and I’m glad I did, there is a lot that I didn’t know they did though, especially how closely we work with the BTP which is a really important part of the job. We share a lot of intelligence to support them, but it’s a two-way street and they provide a lot of help and support to us.”
Martin added: “Our varied backgrounds can help us bring new ideas, as we have our own Problem Solving Assessments where we are given a problem in our local area, such as a route with a lot of fare evasion, or a station with anti-social behaviour, which we then find ways to resolve. We also find new ways of doing things. I’ve recently started to do our cycle marking scheme on board trains, where customers are less rushed, which has been more effective for engaging with them.” The team really do take on a wide responsibility for keeping our network safe and undertake additional safeguarding and first aid training when they join.
You’ll see them at major events such as Ascot, Wimbledon and Twickenham rugby, delivering safety talks in the community including at schools and Scout groups, supporting local charities and Safe Spaces at Richmond, Clapham and Waterloo. They also support in patrolling trains and checking tickets, particularly late at night to look out for vulnerable customers. Recently, in doing this they have identified and helped 36 missing children.
Sarah Brazier said: “There are so many different events and activities we get involved with including the White Ribbon relay last week, supporting revenue blockades, and helping prevent anti-social behaviour on trains and at stations. No day is ever the same.
