Articles: Safety Security issues

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Safety rule at railway crossing a step too far for one commuter

Safety rule at railway crossing a step too far for one commuter
August 17, 2012 Adam Carey

A COMMUTER has been taken to court and fined for doing what thousands of people do every day in Melbourne - walking through the open gates of an automated railway pedestrian crossing.

He was fined because he crossed while the warning signals at the nearby road level crossing were flashing, which is against the law.

The case, which was prosecuted by the Department of Transport, has sparked claims that the law fails to take into account the way many railway level crossings function, with automated pedestrian gates operating independently of nearby boom gates.

The incident occurred at Hoppers Crossing station, which has an island platform and two pedestrian crossings that open and close independently of each other depending on which way a train is going. There are several other similar railway stations in Melbourne.

Gregory Currie, a Werribee software developer, was on his way to work and walked through the open gates of a pedestrian crossing through which city-bound trains pass.

A Werribee-bound train was passing on the other side of the platform and the boom gates across Old Geelong Road were shut, as was the other pedestrian crossing on the other side of the station.

Mr Currie was stopped by Mario Cricchiola, a Metro authorised officer, who took his details and warned him he would likely be issued with an infringement notice. The matter went to the Werribee Magistrates Court in April, where Mr Currie defended himself against the charge of ''crossing a railway line at a place ... for pedestrians when a wigwag [flashing signal] was operating at an immediately adjacent vehicular crossing''.

The magistrate found Mr Currie guilty, but reduced the penalty from $299 to $150. Mr Currie told The Age he believed the law made no sense. ''Surely when there's a crossing with both pedestrian and road signals, pedestrians only need to adhere to the pedestrian signals,'' he said.

Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen said there appeared to be ''a clear disconnect between the legislation and the way that some level crossings operate''.

''The fact that at least one person has been fined for an act that is not only safe, but is also common sense, shows the law needs reform,'' he said.

But the department does not intend to review the law, saying it promotes safe behaviour. ''It is important that people act safely at railway tracks and crossings at all times and do not take it upon themselves to act contrary to the warning signals,'' a spokeswoman said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/safety-rule-at-railway-crossing-a-step-too-far-for-one-commuter-20120816-24bbm.html#ixzz23jQLcfRf

[somebody]

Maybe they could just synchronise the ped and vehicle signals.

[Golliwog]

Maybe they could just synchronise the ped and vehicle signals.

They could, but why would they? Other than to avoid this stupid rule of course. From a safety point of view, having the pedestrian gates operate independently of each other and the road crossings obviously doesn't pose any issues.

[ozbob]

Victoria Police Online News click here!

PSOs head to Frankston and Broadmeadows
   
Monday, 27 August 2012 08:45

Commuters at Frankston and Broadmeadows will see Protective Services Officers (PSOs) on train platforms from tomorrow night as Victoria Police continues the roll-out of PSOs.

From 6pm tomorrow night, PSOs will patrol platforms at Southern Cross, Flinders Street, Footscray, Dandenong, Melbourne Central, Parliament, Richmond, North Melbourne, Box Hill, Epping, Noble Park, Frankston and Broadmeadows train stations every night from 6pm until the last train.

Transit Safety Division Acting Superintendent Charles Allen said the PSOs continued to be extremely well received by the community across the rail network.

"It's great to see members of the public approach the PSOs during their shifts and thank them for the work they're doing to help to keep their stations safe," A/Supt Allen said.

"We now have 116 PSOs working at 13 train stations across greater Melbourne.

"In the coming weeks we will deploy PSOs to locations such as Lilydale, Werribee, Laverton and Yarraville as we continue to create the country's safest public transport system."

The deployment of PSOs is based on a number of factors such as how busy the train station is and the amount of reported crime and anti-social behaviour.

New squads will regularly enter the academy training program throughout the year.

Victoria Police will recruit 940 PSOs by November 2014.

For more information on becoming a PSO visit www.policecareer.vic.gov.au/pso.

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Low crime levels raise doubts on armed officers

Low crime levels raise doubts on armed officers
August 29, 2012 Reid Sexton

MOST Melbourne rail stations go months without serious crimes being committed, raising doubts about the Baillieu government's plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars placing armed guards at each one.

Figures obtained by The Age show many stations experience no serious crimes in a typical year while many more see just one or two, with the safer stations bundled together in the east and south-east.

The most dangerous suburban station is Dandenong where more than 55 assaults and 12 robberies were recently recorded in one year, along with 60 drug offences.

The Victoria Police statistics raise questions about the effectiveness of the $60-million-a-year plan in reducing crime, and undermine government claims that the flagship policy is needed to improve safety.

Under the controversial plan, which the government announced pre-election as part of its tough-on-crime agenda, two protective services officers will guard each station between 6pm and the last train each night.

The government plans to employ 940 PSOs by the November 2014 election and has already deployed them at stations such as Flinders Street and Frankston.

While the government this year raised the cost of all police fines by 15 per cent and slashed TAFE funding in a challenging economic environment, it has repeatedly committed to the PSO rollout. This is despite the cost blowing out from $181 million pre-election to between $230 and $260 million in its first four years alone after the government amended the rollout timeline and underestimated the cost of building changing rooms at police stations.

But figures for 2010-11, the latest year for which stats were available, show many of the PSOs will have little work to do.

The safest stations in Melbourne are Royal Park and Beaconsfield, where no crime was reported that year.

The Victoria Police statistics raise questions about the effectiveness of the $60-million-a-year plan in reducing crime, and undermine government claims that the flagship policy is needed to improve safety.

Under the controversial plan, which the government announced pre-election as part of its tough-on-crime agenda, two protective services officers will guard each station between 6pm and the last train each night.

The government plans to employ 940 PSOs by the November 2014 election and has already deployed them at stations such as Flinders Street and Frankston.

While the government this year raised the cost of all police fines by 15 per cent and slashed TAFE funding in a challenging economic environment, it has repeatedly committed to the PSO rollout. This is despite the cost blowing out from $181 million pre-election to between $230 and $260 million in its first four years alone after the government amended the rollout timeline and underestimated the cost of building changing rooms at police stations.

But figures for 2010-11, the latest year for which stats were available, show many of the PSOs will have little work to do.

The safest stations in Melbourne are Royal Park and Beaconsfield, where no crime was reported that year.

How many assaults were there at train station in your area last year?

Postcodes appear darker depending on the number of assaults in that area in the last financial year.

Interactives by Marc Moncrief and Craig Butt

These are closely followed by 27 stations where no crimes against the person such as robbery, assault or any sexual crime were committed, including Willison and Burwood on the Alamein line and stations along the Stony Point line.

More than one-third of the network - 80 stations - had two or less crimes against the person. And a further 35 stations had three or four crimes against the person committed there, meaning more than half the network's 215 stations have a serious crime generally committed there just once every three months or longer.

While Victoria Police would not provide data, it is estimated it will cost at least $200,000 per year per station to pay the salaries of PSOs.

Monash University political lecturer Nick Economou said despite evidence PSOs were not needed at every station, the government would likely keep the plan. ''If they were smart about this stuff they would say we've looked at the statistics ... and maybe there's a case for allocating resources more efficiently, sending them where they're needed,'' he said. ''They may do that but it seems to me this is almost a matter of principle ... and I'm sure [the Coalition is] convinced it's one of the reasons they won an election they didn't expect to win.''

Economist Saul Eslake said: ''We are paying a high financial price ... and a price to our civil liberties, for the misreading of the risks we face and an inability to make intelligent judgments about probabilities and costs versus benefits.''

A spokesman for Police Minister Peter Ryan said many passengers on the network were scared at night and they widely supported the policy.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/low-crime-levels-raise-doubts-on-armed-officers-20120828-24yuj.html#ixzz24sUeuSD4

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

High-risk stations missing guards

High-risk stations missing guards
September 1, 2012 Reid Sexton

MANY of Melbourne's most dangerous rail stations are yet to have armed guards deployed to them nearly two years after the state election.

The Baillieu government promised before the election that it would hire 940 protective services officers to create a safe network.

But while they have been deployed at major city and suburban stations where much crime is regularly committed such as Flinders Street, Southern Cross and Dandenong, about 200 stations still don't have them.

This includes Ringwood, which the most recent police data shows had 18 assaults and up to two robberies in the 2010-11 year, leaving it the second most dangerous suburban station on the network.

Also without PSOs are Werribee, which recorded 14 assault and three robberies, and Mooroolbark in Melbourne's east with 13 assaults and up to two robberies. Other dangerous stations without officers are Sunshine and Albion, which had 14 assaults and 14 robberies between them.

All of these stations recorded more crime against people in 2010-11 than several stations that already have PSOs including Footscray, Box Hill and Epping.

The government has previously conceded that stations with toilets will receive priority in the roll-out, while police this week said deployment decisions were based on a range of factors including logistics and infrastructure.

The Age revealed this week that most Melbourne rail stations go months without any serious crimes being committed, raising questions about the need for two PSOs at every station.

Premier Ted Baillieu defended the policy and said he still wanted to see two officers at every station.

But he added that this was ultimately a decision for Victoria Police, a statement at odds with previous promises from the Coalition that it would ensure PSOs were deployed to every station.

Victoria Police has repeatedly said it plans to put two on each station.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/highrisk-stations-missing-guards-20120831-255y8.html#ixzz259Baw81C

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Tram call to tackle CBD violence

Tram call to tackle CBD violence
September 10, 2012 Dan Oakes

RUNNING trains and trams later on weekends could help stem the tide of drunken bashings in the centre of Melbourne, according to one of the state's top policemen.

Superintendent Rod Wilson, the man in charge of policing in the city centre, urged the state government and public transport operators to consider a trial whereby trains and trams would run until 3am or 4am to cope with some of the 380,000 people who flood the city each night on weekends.

''My main beef is that we've got to get fair dinkum about a public transport option to get people home,'' Superintendent Wilson said.

''At 3am, people are out in the street, they can't get back into any club, their night's over, but cab drivers are saying, 'No, not you', then they're hanging out in the road trying to flag down a police car they think's a cab.

''There are no trains or trams, although there's a NightRider bus that does what it can. Trains can move a thousand people every six minutes, that's what happens after the races at Flemington.''

Crime statistics released last week show that the number of assaults in the Melbourne police service area, including the CBD, rose by 2.1 per cent in the past year, while in Yarra, which takes in other popular night-time areas such as Carlton, Richmond and Fitzroy, they rose by 16.6 per cent.

Superintendent Wilson said the bashing death of teenager Thomas Kelly in Sydney's Kings Cross this year had prompted Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore, the state government and senior New South Wales police to investigate the possibility of improved public transport in that city.

He understood there would be obstacles to extending public transport times, including the cost to the state government and the need to use the time when lines were inactive for maintenance, he said.

''Metro would say they need that time for track and signal maintenance, which I get - of course you do. However, I've been the police commander for New Year's Eve for the last three years. The system runs 24/7 on New Year's Eve and it makes a hell of a difference in clearing the city.''

Superintendent Wilson said the possibility had been discussed on a number of occasions with the state government, ''but it gets back to the cost. I haven't had any official response.''

The Age asked the transport and police ministers whether the government planned to extend public transport hours to tackle violent crime in the CBD.

''The Police Minister has long endorsed a whole-of-government approach to tackling anti-social behaviour in the [CBD], including consideration of extending access to late-night public transport during high-volume periods,'' a spokeswoman for Police Minister Peter Ryan said.

''With public safety in the central business district already benefiting from extra frontline officers from the Coalition's promised 1700 extra police officers and 940 protective services officers, the government is well placed to look at these types of options to promote a safe culture.''

Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder said he was considering extending tram and NightRider hours in the Christmas and New Year's Eve period, but he did not comment on whether they should be permanently extended.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/tram-call-to-tackle-cbd-violence-20120909-25mid.html

[ozbob]

Travel plans - 10 News

Commuters are willing to pay more for weekend public transport, if it runs into the small hours of the night.

[somebody]

Chris Hale is at Melbourne Uni now!

I thought they had all night buses.  How are they doing?

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Rail guard fires gun into floor at police HQ

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Salvos plan to patrol trains and stations

[ozbob]

Twitter

1m Daniel Bowen Daniel Bowen ‏@danielbowen

#DumbWaysToDie now at 1.4 million Youtube views. Let's hope the message gets through. ... #metrotrains

[somebody]

Takes a long time to talk about trains which is the message.  Not sure that's a good thing.

[ozbob]

That's a fair criticism I think Simon.  It has gone viral, was initially leaked by Fake Metro Trains ‏@fakemetrotrains on twitter, the campaign was 'officially' due to start to tomorrow.

Leaked Metro newsletter --> https://www.dropbox.com/s/wdlzwp5rnftdxvg/Metro%20Express%20Edition%2046%2016%20Nov%202012.pdf

http://dumbwaystodie.com/

[ozbob]

Dumb ways to die ...



Now at 3.8 million views ...

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

19th November 2012

Dumb ways to die - Rail safety video Metro Trains Melbourne

Greetings,

Interesting little rail safety video, gone viral.  Presently at 3.9 million views

-->   

Campaign web site -->   http://dumbwaystodie.com/

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Metro's tongue-in-cheek transport safety animated video goes viral on social media

[SurfRail]

I thought this was fantastic.

It's the kind of thing that they would only come up with while being run by a mob like MTR.

[ozbob]

Twitter

IrishRail ‏@IrishRail

Well done Melbourne's @metrotrains for this catchy safety message! #dumbwaystodie ...

=====================

8.5 million hits ...

[ozbob]

Twitter

1m Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow

' Dumb ways to die ' ... now 11.3 million hits, acknowledged globally as a worthwhile contribution #qldpol #dumbwaystodie

[ozbob]

Twitter

1m Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow

' Dumb ways to die ' ... now 11.3 million hits, acknowledged globally as a worthwhile contribution #qldpol #dumbwaystodie

Now 17.5 million views ..

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Metro accused of bullying train victim's mother

[ozbob]

Karaoke version of Dumb ways to die ...

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Aussie viral video, 'Dumb Ways to Die', lives on

[ozbob]

Queensland Rail has hooked in Dumb ways to die .. on their home page ..

http://www.queenslandrail.com.au/Pages/Default.aspx

[ozbob]

Twitter

1m Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow

' Dumb ways to die ' ... now 11.3 million hits, acknowledged globally as a worthwhile contribution #qldpol #dumbwaystodie

Now 17.5 million views ..

Approaching 30 million views ... 

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> PSOs target disabled, homeless with fines

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> PSO comments 'offensive and stupid'

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> More safety for commuters at Sunshine

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> PSO wannabe linked to arms dealer

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Metro staff hit with pepper spray in row

[huddo45]

Melbourne Age --> Metro staff hit with pepper spray in row

Australia's most 'leave-able' city. 

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

$2.7m pledge to recruit more PSOs

$2.7m pledge to recruit more PSOs
January 20, 2013 - 8:28PM  Jason Dowling

POLICE and the state government have pledged to recruit and train another 681 protective services officers in less than two years despite recruiting only 259 officers in the past two years.

A new $2.7 million marketing campaign has been launched to recruit more PSOs to patrol Melbourne train stations.

There are currently 259 officers patrolling 30 stations - with officers to begin at Ferntree Gully and Watergardens stations on Tuesday night.

The Baillieu government has promised to deliver 940 PSOs across Melbourne's train network by November next year.

Premier Ted Baillieu and the Assistant Commissioner for Transit and Public Safety, Chris O'Neill, said they were confident the 940 target would be met.

''We are comfortable things are on track,'' Mr O'Neill said. ''This is setting up an entire workforce, 940 - this is bigger than the Northern Territory Police Force in numbers,'' he said.

''We are on track to recruit, have trained and deployed the 940 by November 2014, I am confident,'' Mr O'Neill said.

Mr Baillieu said he was also confident of the November 2014 target. ''I have got no reason to think otherwise,'' he said. ''It's part of a new era in Victoria where train stations become places of safety, not places of fear,'' he said.

Mr Baillieu said PSOs had been well received by the community and ''reduced the crime rate around those stations''.

Asked if there were police statistics to back up the claim, he said there was anecdotal evidence. ''I am going on the anecdotes I get out of local media and I haven't looked; I am sure the stats are there. The reporting from local stations is to that effect,'' he said.

Opposition police spokeswoman Jacinta Allan said the rollout of the PSOs was ''massively behind schedule and massively over budget''.

She said while the government was throwing millions of dollars at PSO recruitment it was cutting money from the police budget. ''This is seeing hundreds of jobs lost and front-line community safety programs being affected,'' she said.

PSO Chris Chau, who is based at Werribee station, said the job involved dealing with a wide variety of different people and situations. ''We basically do a similar role as police ... we do have assaults happening on our stations and that is how we co-operate with our police officers,'' he said. He also often assisted people with a mental illness.

Protective services officers work from 6pm until the last train service. Almost nine out of 10 PSOs are men and police are encouraging more women to apply.

Police said the 12-week PSO training program at the Victoria Police Academy prepared officers ''to work safely in a dynamic environment with a high level of unpredictability with respect to vulnerable people such as the homeless, youth, drug and alcohol affected, the elderly and people living with mental health illness''.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/27m-pledge-to-recruit-more-psos-20130120-2d0wq.html

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Trains halted after truck crashes into rail bridge

This bridge strike damaged cables and was an overnight repair .. idiots everywhere ..

============

Twitter

Metro Trains ‏@metrotrains

Happy Australia Day tweeps! Overnight we carried out significant repairs to some main signal cables which were damaged after an 1/2

===========

Twitter

Metro Trains ‏@metrotrains

accident involving the Racecourse Rd Bridge. Normal Saturday services have resumed on the Craigieburn line. We appreciate your patience. 2/2

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> PSO policy on wrong track to fight crime

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Talks sought on 'one of the worst' level crossings

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Parents push for compulsory school bus seatbelts

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Brighton jumps the queue as death trap waits

[ozbob]

The Leader --> PSOs save a life, keep the peace at Monash train stations

[ozbob]

News.com.au  --> Police hail PSOs a success after thousands of commuters are fined and arrested