1 Introduction
1. The British Transport Police (BTP) provides "a
policing service which delivers a safe railway environment that
is free from disruption and the fear of crime" in England,
Scotland and Wales.[1]
It has done so for over one hundred and fifty years.[2]
In 2004/05 the BTP had 2,494 Police Officers and 1,015 support
staff.[3] In addition to
the national overland railway network, the Force is responsible
for a number of other mass transit systems throughout the country,
for example, the London Underground, London Docklands Light Railway,
Midland Metro Tram System, and the London Croydon Tramlink.[4]
2. Privatisation of the railway in 1994 heralded
a period of change for the Force. For example, the responsibility
for funding the Force was placed on the train operating companies,
Network Rail, independent station operators and open access operators;
and London Underground. The BTP was given jurisdiction outside
the railway network;[5]
and its powers were extended.[6]
The Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 established
a BTP police authority, which came into being on 1 July 2004.[7]
Reviews
3. The BTP was last reviewed by the Government less
than two years ago. That review rejected any 'suggestion that
the BTP should be merged or linked to the Metropolitan Police
or other Home Office County forces.' To do this, it was argued,
would be 'to lose the valuable specialisms that the BTP has established.
It would also take away the extremely positive ability of the
BTP to police across boundaries'.[8]
4. This position mirrored the prior conclusions of
our predecessor committee: 'The British Transport Police is not
a Home Office Force, and nothing we have heard suggests that it
should become one. The railways are a specialised environment,
with specialised needs, and need a specialised force.'[9]
5. It came as a considerable surprise therefore when,
on 11 October 2005, the Secretary of State for Transport announced
another review of the BTP to 'examine the functions of the British
Transport Police and whether some or all of these are best carried
out by a national force, regional forces or, indeed, by the industry
itself.'[10] The Secretary
of State made clear to us that his review was being conducted
'in the context of the current review of 43 local police forces
which is being undertaken by the Home Secretary.' [11]
This inquiry
6. We announced a short inquiry into the British
Transport Police on 13 January 2006.[12]
The purpose of this was primarily to determine whether there was
sound evidence that any change to the status of the Force would
be justified. We took evidence in public from Derek Twigg MP,
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport,
Hazel Blears MP, then Minister of State in the Home Department,
and others on 26 April. We are grateful to those who gave evidence
to us.
7. The outcome of the Department for Transport's
latest BTP review is awaited as this short report is published.
We understand that the review is due to finish later this month.[13]
We hope that our work will assist the Government in reaching
a proper conclusion.
1 http://www.btp.police.uk/ . For further details see,
HMIC, BTP Inspection 2003/04, para 2.7 Back
2
http://www.btp.police.uk/about.htm. The Force can trace its history
back to 1825. Back
3
BTP Statistical Bulletin 2004-05, p6 Back
4
The national railway network consists of 10,000 miles of track,
3,000 stations and depots, 400,000 tonnes of freight carried a
day, a travelling population of over 5.5 million a day plus over
130,000 rail staff (memorandum submitted by the British Transport
Police) Back
5
Anti Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, S 100 and Sch 7 Back
6
Police Reform Act 2002, S 75 and 76 Back
7
British Transport Police (transitional and consequential provisions)
Order 2004 Back
8
DfT, Review of the British Transport Police, September 2004, para
7.2 Back
9
Transport Select Committee, Twelfth Report of Session 2003-2004,
British Transport Police (HC 488), page16 Back
10
HC Deb 11 October 2005 Cols 27-28WS Back
11
Letter to Chairman of the Transport Select Committee, 11 October
2005 Back
12
Transport Select Committee, PN 20 Back
13
Q213 Back
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