BTP plays a crucial role in protecting vulnerable children on the rail network. In light of upcoming large-scale cuts to British Transport Police services, Railway Children highlights the force’s essential role in keeping vulnerable children and young people safe on the UK’s railways.
Date: 1st May 2025 | Author: Con Enzler
Around 11,000 vulnerable children and young people are reported to British Transport Police (BTP) every year*. Many are escaping abuse, neglect, or family conflict. Others have been groomed or coerced into transporting drugs for County Lines gangs.
Children who spend a lot of time in public spaces, like train stations, face various risks, including:
BTP refer young people to us who have been found to be at risk along the railway. We provide each young person with bespoke support, tackling the root causes of their struggles to prevent them running away and coming to any harm.
While the scale of the proposed cuts is still under discussion, they will likely include the closure of dozens of BTP stations across England, Scotland and Wales, with a loss of nearly 300 jobs.
This will result in a reduced presence of officers in many stations, particularly in the North-West region, with potentially no presence at all between Preston and Scotland.
As BTP services are central to the safety of transport networks, Railway Children is concerned that an unintentional repercussion of the cuts could be a drop in the force’s capacity to effectively protect vulnerable people.
Rob Capener, Chief Executive of Railway Children, said:
“Because we work so closely with BTP, we see how tirelessly they work, every day, to protect passengers from harm and look out for vulnerable people across the rail network.”
“If there are fewer officers available to respond to safeguarding concerns, it is inevitable that we will see an increase in vulnerable young people slipping through the net and missing out on the crucial support they need, when they need it.”
While this figure may be partly attributed to higher rates of incident reporting, it is 50% higher than pre-pandemic levels***.
With cases of harassment and assault on the rise, children and vulnerable adults face more dangers on the network than even before.
On account of the upcoming nationalisation of the railways, we are asking the government to outline a funding formula to ensure BTP retains appropriate levels of funding, so that those most at risk continue to be protected from harm and provided with the support they need.
*British Transport Police
**County lines and child criminal exploitation, The Children’s Society
***Rail Safety, April 2023 to March 2024, Office of Rail and Road, Sept 2024.
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