Memorandum submitted by British Transport
Police Federation
1. The British Transport Police Federation
is pleased to make this submission to the House of Commons Transport
Committee.
2. The Federation represents the views of
some 2,200 officers ranging in rank from Constable to Chief Inspector.
We do not propose to comment in detail on the operational capability
of the Force as this is outside our strict remit. The Force itself
will capably and expertly articulate its professional view.
3. Following the bomb incidents in London
in July 2005, the Federation understands that a review of how
the police and other emergency services responded to the attacks
is entirely appropriate. However, in any review the Federation
would urge the Committee to note the excellence of the response
by BTP officers and in particular, our ability to work as a team
with other Forces. The Federation makes this point quite specifically
because over the past five years the BTP has been reviewed no
fewer than four times.
4. As a result of these reviews the BTP
police officers (but not the Force as a corporate entity) have
become disillusioned with their sense of security of career and
personal future direction. Each review to date has been emphatic
in its conclusion that Britain needs a specialist railway police
service.
5. Former Transport Minister, John Speller
noted in his 2001 consultation paper "Modernising the British
Transport Police" . . . the British Transport Police's operations
are fully integrated with Home Office Police Forces and they provide
policing services to exactly the same high professional standard.
In addition to providing specialist policing for the railway environment,
they have developed particular expertise in . . . protection against
terrorism, management of large travelling groups such as football
supporters and control of anti-social behaviour in enclosed areas."
6. In its response to the consultation paper
the Department for Transport stated:
"The Government therefore considers that
the national railway network is best protected by a unified police
force providing a dedicated, specialist service and able to give
a proper priority to the policing of the railways."
7. In 2004, the Transport Select Committee
offered the following comment . . ." The railways are a specialised
environment, with specialised needs and need a specialised Force
. . . Unless there is a national force dedicated to policing the
rail network, the task will not be given the priority it needs."
8. The White Paper, "The Future of
Rail" published by the Department for Transport in 2004 stated:
"The industry and passengers also receive significant benefits
from a dedicated force, particularly from its approach to managing
incidents, which is aimed at minimising delay. The Government
confirms its support for the British Transport Police continuing
in its role as a specialist rail police force."
9. It is not just that the reviews conclude
that we are indispensable, secondly that the BTP is good at what
it does but thirdly, when the quality of systems and of officers
was tested, not once but twice last July, the BTP rose superbly
to the occasion.
10. As a result of the Transport Committee's
deliberations, the Federation would hope to see an end to the
periodic examination of the workings of the BTP—examinations
which query why the BTP even exists as opposed to recommending
how its capability could and should be enhanced.
11. The Federation would invite the Committee
to comment on the difficulties which the present funding arrangements
pose for the BTP. Under the user pays principle the senior management
of BTP spend inordinate time recovering from the Train Operating
Companies their share of the costs of providing them with a dedicated
specialist police service. The public's willingness to travel
by train is directly governed by how safe they feel from railway
crime. The ability of the BTP to restore normal operational service
after an incident directly affects the revenue of the Train Operating
Companies. It is therefore unacceptable that BTP energy which
has other policing priorities such as public safety and anti-terrorism
should be spent in chasing up companies who are simply reluctant
payers. The Federation believes that companies slow to pay should
incur penalty charges as a disincentive to wasting police time.
12. As Chairman of the Police Federation,
either I or our General Secretary, Roger Randall would be pleased
to give evidence to the Committee.
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