First regional counter terrorism hub for national force
British Transport Police (BTP) has introduced its first regional counter terrorism hub in Birmingham’s New Street station.
The hub will bring additional resources to the region allowing BTP officers to respond quickly to incidents and reassure the public. Armed officers will permanently patrol the station.
Specialist firearms officers and a support dog have been recruited to work alongside regular BTP officers. This development coincides with a major uplift to BTP’s counter terrorism capability following a number of terrorism related incidents which BTP officers had to respond to.
Superintendent Chris Horton, BTP Specialist Operations, said that it was not a result of any specific intelligence or threat but had been planned for a long time to respond to the current climate.
Work to create a second regional counter terrorism hub in the North West is set to commence later this year.
Trains and rail stations in London have been patrolled by specialist officers since 2017.
Superintendent Horton said: “The opening of the Midlands hub provides us with a regional base for our specialist operations teams which means we can better respond to incidents should they occur, as well as patrol the network more effectively, reaching most of the country in a relatively short space of time.
“Our specialist officers are there to reassure, protect and respond to any incident should the need arise. They will be highly visible on the network and particularly around Birmingham New Street station, engaging with the public every day so people will get used to seeing them around.”
“In the current climate, we know how important it is to make sure we have specialist officers in the right place at the right time to keep people safe.”
