Merger for Scottish railway policing ‘complicated’

Integrating railway policing into Police Scotland would be ‘massively complicated’, police chiefs have argued.

The Railway Policing Bill, to be introduced at Holyrood after being first announced in the latest Scottish programme for government, will enhance devolution of law enforcement powers, including the functions of the British Transport Police being taken over by Police Scotland.

Reports suggest that British Transport Police intended to continue providing the service, but with oversight from Holyrood instead of Westminster. Consequently, three railway unions came out against the plan.

Opponents to the plans argue that Police Scotland ‘is still very much in its infancy’, saying that ‘no evidence to date has been able to state clearly what, if any, advantage there would be in dismantling the current BTP model of policing in Scotland and integrating it within a geographical routine form of policing’.

Assistant chief constable Bernard Higgins, of Police Scotland, admitted the merger would be ‘complicated but not insurmountable’. He said that staffing levels in train stations would be maintained, and would also be supplemented by Police Scotland officers which are not currently ‘routinely’ dispatched to support British Transport Police.

Adrian Hanstock, British Transport Police deputy chief constable, said: “Why does BTP exist now if it's so easy to absorb it into a geographic force? There's a reason why the specialism is so valued by the industry and passengers - it hasn't just emerged out of a want from some enthusiasts. There's a real need for policing the railway in a different way.”