§ Mr. ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what are the Government's proposals for the future of the British Transport Police. [55234]
§ Dr. ReidThe British Railways Board are currently under a duty to maintain a railway police force for the national railway, the London Underground and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and are in consequence the employer of the British Transport Police (BTP). In order to improve the public status and accountability of the force, the Government have decided, when a suitable legislative opportunity arises, to seek to establish an independent national police authority for the BTP on similar lines to the existing police authorities for Home638W Office forces, with its members appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
The Force's jurisdiction on railway land at present depends on contracts with the privatised rail industry. These contracts can cause problems in defining jurisdiction (eg to company premises which are not part of the railway network and are already properly policed by Home Office forces), they can overlap and there are parts of the network which are not covered. The proposed legislation would seek to put the jurisdiction of the force on all railway land (including the London Underground and the DLR) on a statutory basis.
In 1996 Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary recommended extending the BTP's jurisdiction outside the railway in three specific circumstances: when called on for assistance by a Home Office police officer, when called on for assistance by a member of the public, and in an emergency. The Home Office are undertaking a further consultation exercise with a view to assessing the acceptability of such an extension of jurisdiction.