| Local Buses to get Police escort Bobbies will be boarding the 220 bus service running through Putney, Wandsworth and Hammersmith as part of a long-term campaign to cut crime and ensure a safer, quicker journey The 220 will be the 20th service to benefit from a dedicated team of officers from the Transport OCU, a joint initiative between the Met and the Mayor's Transport for London authority (TfL), which specialises in deterring and tackling crime on the city's bus network. A team of comprising a Sergeant, 6 police constables and 12 traffic wardens and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), will be providing public reassurance, targeting serious offending, clamping down on anti-social behavior, street-crime and drug related crime on bus corridors. Taxi touts, unlicensed mini-cabs drivers, fare evaders and people who park illegally will also be targeted. The team will work closely with their colleagues in the Transport OCU headquarters based in Victoria, who co-ordinate intelligence between crime and transport across London and have access to each and every CCTV camera in the capital. Sergeant Steve Chapman will be in charge of policing route 220 which runs from the Arndell centre in Wandsworth, via Putney High Street, Fulham Palace Road into Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush and ending in Harlesden. He said: "My team and I are looking forward to policing the 220 service and aim to build on the successes we are having elsewhere. We will provide a positive uniformed presence on the streets to reassure the local community, and keeping the buses moving. By working closely with borough police and our partners from TfL we will be executing a number of proactive and undercover operations to reduce crime and make life better for bus drivers and members of the local community who use the service." Superintendent Paul Dowell from the TOCU said: "People may have the impression that officers are checking tickets however they are making a real difference to local communities and bus drivers." He pointed to a route in Greenwich that had to be withdrawn due to violence and anti-social behaviour until the unit got involved making drivers willing to resume the service. He added, "Elsewhere TOCU officers have made hundreds of arrests for street robbery, deception and assault to name a few. Route delay times have also been reduced by up to 40 minutes, and we have a high level of intelligence coming to and from officers, as well as traffic wardens working in the areas. Peter Hendy, Managing Director of Surface Transport, Transport for London, said: " The Mayor's commitment of £25 million to establish this joint Metropolitan Police and Transport for London unit is working effectively. Since the unit began operating in June last year it has been highly successful in tackling the fear of crime and freeing bus lanes of illegally parked vehicles. The Mayor, myself and the Transport Commissioner, Bob Kiley, welcome Sir John Steven's establishment of the Transport OCU which is delivering excellent results." The chosen corridors were selected by Transport for London because of their levels of crime, delays to bus services due to illegal parking and their level of importance to the bus network. Since June 2002 over one thousand arrests have been made by the unit. March 25,
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