Lothian Buses has been awarded Policing Partner of the Year at the Scottish Police Excellence Awards on Friday, January 27, following a partnership between the operator and the Transport Liaison Officer in 2015.
The award was given in recognition of the successful partnership created by Lothian and Police Scotland Edinburgh Division to help tackle potential incidents on Edinburgh’s transport network. Claudine Molloy, Head of Operations at Lothian Buses, commented: “We are delighted to be working in partnership
with Police Scotland.
“To win this award further cements the great work we have done together over the past 18 months. We share the same values around community safety and I’m confident that our work together has and will continue to benefit our staff, customers and the wider community.”
PC Julie Cochrane took on the role, and liaises with Lothian staff on how to best deal with, report and prevent criminal or anti-social behaviour on the buses. As part of the partnership, a school programme to deliver behavioural change communications has been developed and made available to high school pupils. The workshop was presented to 22 local school in 2016, engaging with over 1,200 young adults.
Police Scotland Inspector, David Happs, said: “This award recognises the commitment of Police Scotland and Lothian Buses to work together to provide safe travel throughout the city for the large number of local residents, visitors and staff that use this network on a daily basis.
“We have already observed a large reduction in the number of incidents of antisocial behaviour through focussed joint initiatives and intervention. I anticipate the programme will deliver further long-term benefits.”
