West Midlands Police Officer Clarifies Non-Emergency Bus Reporting System
West Midlands Police education officer Paula Shortland has provided detailed explanations about how the 81018 reporting number displayed on buses actually functions in practice. As the lead for Violence Against Women and Girls within the Safer Travel Partnership, Shortland regularly uses public transportation herself and is passionate about raising awareness of available reporting tools for Birmingham residents.
Understanding the SeeSay Reporting System
The SeeSay line offered by the Safer Travel Partnership operates differently from the British Transport Police's text reporting feature on 61016. "SeeSay is for non-emergencies," Shortland explained to BirminghamLive. "It doesn't matter if you accidentally report a crime as we're a policing team, we can crime it for you quickly, we can deal with it, but you're not going to get an emergency response."
She contrasted this with the British Transport Police approach, noting that organization can dispatch officers to the next station if something feels wrong during a journey. The SeeSay system, however, operates during specific hours. "We only look at SeeSays during community times," Shortland clarified. "Seven in the morning until about seven in the evening, so if it comes in at night time, we're not going to see it until the next day."
Emergency Versus Non-Emergency Situations
Shortland emphasized the critical distinction between emergency and non-emergency reporting. "999 for an emergency, anything else, we'll deal with it," she stated clearly. The officer outlined what happens when someone feels uncomfortable on public transport, such as due to another passenger's behavior.
"If we were here in front of the screen, we would have phone called straight away and said 'Are you still on the bus? Are you there? Can you speak to the bus driver?'" she described. "The bus driver can call the police if you want to. It's up to the victim, some people say, 'I don't want you to call the police, I just want to tell you and go.'"
Victim-Centered Approach
Shortland explained that this approach is "completely fine" and that responses are tailored to each victim's preferences. "We're victim lead," she emphasized. "However you want to deal with someone is fine. We might provide that reassurance and stay on the phone."
The officer detailed how the team might respond practically: "If we have transport safety officers in the area, like what bus are you on, we might be able to meet it, or it may be you get off before then so we won't have a chance to do that." Regardless of the situation, Shortland noted they would stay on the phone with victims, providing continuous reassurance and offering advice about available support options.
Additional Support Mechanisms
Other assistance methods include utilizing facial recognition through CCTV systems to identify individuals and checking for patterns of similar incidents. Reflecting on uncomfortable public transport situations, Shortland observed: "A lot of these time these aren't out of the blue [incidents]. So I'll have a look, see what else, if there's an address on file, we can go down, we can see them, there's lots that we can do."
The Importance of Reporting
What Shortland made absolutely clear is the fundamental concern of "not knowing" about incidents. "It's the not knowing. That's what we say to people, even if [victims] don't want to take it forward, just let us know. Then we have the information then we know this is happening, and we know we need to pay more attention to that route."
The education officer concluded with a simple but powerful message: "It's just encouraging people to report it." This comprehensive explanation from West Midlands Police aims to demystify the reporting process and encourage greater use of available safety tools on Birmingham's public transportation network.
