St John Ambulance - Winner
Through highly trained volunteers and leading edge cycling technology, the St John Ambulance London Cycle Response Unit (CRU) provides emergency first aid that compliments the operational role of St John Ambulance in the communities that we serve across London.
CRU current operational cycling capability is made up with 15 specially equipped mountain bicycles that can carry advanced first aid equipment including an AED and medical gases, along with 30 highly trained volunteer operational cyclists. This represents over 12% of the national St John Ambulance fleet of bicycles, with London having the largest operational capability, and an estimated one 15% of appropriately trained personnel.
The team of CRU volunteers represents a significantly diverse group in terms of age, race, religion, background and volunteer experience. They are all fully trained to the National Cycling Standard Level 3 and all undertake the Public Safety Cycling Advanced Training Course within 6 months of joining in order to reach the advanced levels of cycling skills required for their role.
The unit has operated at a wide range of events across London, from the London Marathon and Tour de France to the Notting Hill Carnival, Freewheel and Sky ride, Pride London and marches including G20 and Climate Change rallies.
Key achievements in 2010 so far include: relocating to a new base with the City of London Police in Barbican, and being co-located with London Ambulance Service CRU City of London team colleagues as well the City of London Police CRU; completing a recruitment programme and training 12 new members (total strength of 30); supporting 30 events from January to May; expanding the fleet to 15 bicycles.
Metropolitan Police
The London Cycle Hire Scheme is being launched in July 2010. The Operational Delivery Support Unit, (ODSU), from the Safer Transport Command has worked closely with Transport for London and the MPS Traffic OCU to minimise the impact of Cycle Theft and collisions involving cyclists. The STC ODSU have identified operational gaps and have supported the cycling revolution by providing dedicated cycle teams, joint working with BTP, all policing an intelligence led operation: Operation Bike. Operation Bike has three objectives; Reduction of criminal activity throughout the transport nodes and associated means of travel; Reassurance and engagement with cyclists; gathering of soft intelligence.
Tactics included Reassurance and Enforcement deployments including the use of decoy/tracker bikes. Operational delivery was centered on 32 pan London transport interchanges. Enforcement tactics included: HVP at cycle parking facilities outside transport hubs; fixed penalty notices issued for cycling on the pavement; co-coordinated action on the ground with BTP, local authority wardens; co-coordinated local press/media strategy; plain clothes operations using decoy bikes; use of intelligence to identify and arrest suspects involved in the theft and handling of bicycles; surveillance; fast time Intel-led operations.
The ODSU planned and co-ordinated activity. They have provided training, briefings and leadership raising the profile of cycling, supporting those who use bicycles responsibly and targeting those who use bikes for criminal profit or for the commissioning of offences. Operation Bike has provided visible and accessible patrols to engage with cyclists, providing security advice and increasing confidence of cyclists in London.
Public Safety Cycling
Public Safety Cycling (PSC) is the only network that supports those who use bicycles in the line of duty by providing: networking, education, advice, guidelines/policy, workshops, specialised training, instructor training and seminars.
PSC developed and has delivered ‘emergency services instructor cycle training’ from July 2008. There are now over 50 instructors trained in this field in all emergency services and other undisclosed disciplines. Their specific field of interest in policing and ambulance work has grown to over six thousand ‘public service cyclists’ in the UK and is still growing.
PSC’s mission is to promote the use of the bicycle, provide the appropriate cycle training and education, raise the standard of cycling for the benefit of all road users and by doing this, humanizing the streets for everyone. PCS’s goal is to become the main hub of the best 999 cycle training provision with a focus on ‘changing the habit’ of the generation now and forever to cycle more often and safely on streets. The network’s objectives are to assist the specific measure of more journeys made by bicycle by the emergency services. Finally, their philosophy is to provide the best and most enjoyable cycle training and education packages available to the emergency services.
www.publicsafetycycling.org.uk
