Case Study :
WMP Operation Top Deck
Overview of the approach
Operation Top Deck was an approach developed by West Midlands Police that used a local bus company ’ s vehicle to house a ‘ spotter ’ officer who identified offending behaviour of drivers as the bus travelled along its route . Officers were teamed with intercepting officers who instructed the offender to pull over and who provided the appropriate response to the offence . A range of offences could be identified , with mobile phone use by drivers one of them and indeed being the primary offence of focus during the launch of Top Deck during NPCC ‘ mobile phone week ’ in September 2018 . Fire and Rescue Service and Local Authority partners were also involved and provided education and virtual reality experiences to those drivers who had been caught commiting an offence while stationary in traffic . Those committing the offence whilst moving received a fixed penalty notice . More recently , WMP have encouraged PCSOs to spot and record offences on their journeys to and from patrol areas , with an NIP then sent in the post .
The Operation was widely publicised ( some similar operations have utilised a covert approach ) in an attempt to increase awareness of the growing number of ways that offending behaviour can be identified and hence deter it .
2020 Update : Since it ’ s launch , WMP have faced the challenge of needing RIPA authorisation to run the operation , and since the Barreto judgement ( see p60 ) there have been no further challenges . For more details , contact Sgt Jon Butler ( jonathan . butler @ westmidlands . pnn . police . uk )
Operation Top Deck also involves a public reporting component ( see p128 ) where members of the public are encouraged to take mobile footage of driving offences when using public transport , and to report them through the force online reporting facility . This is intended to increase perceptions that detection and punishment is likely For 2020 , the activity is mainly conducted by PCSOs , who are encouraged to look out for offences and record them on their BWC - after which an NIP is sent ..
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