Transit police


Transit police are specialized police agencies employed either by a common carrier, such as a transit district, railway, railroad, bus line, or another mass transit provider or municipality, county, district, or state.
Transit law enforcement services may also be provided by a specialized unit within a larger local law enforcement agency. Their mandate is generally to prevent and investigate all crime committed against the carrier or its passengers and crime incidentally committed on or around the carrier's property.

Type

Autonomous agencies

A transit police force may consist of officers employed directly by a transit system or by a government agency dedicated to providing specialized law enforcement services. There are numerous instances of both within United States, given the decentralized nature of US law enforcement; examples of larger, stand-alone agencies within the US include the MBTA Police, BART Police, and the New Jersey Transit Police Department. In the United Kingdom, transit law enforcement is provided by a single, nation-wide agency, the British Transport Police, although other law enforcement agencies may assist with this task. Within India, many transit policing services are conducted by the Government Railway Police.

Specialized units of local law enforcement agencies

Other forces may exist as a specialized unit of a local law enforcement agency, such as the United States' Transit Police Services Bureau of the Orange County, California Sheriff's Department or the Transit Enforcement Unit of the Phoenix Police Department. Some formerly independent transit police agencies have also been absorbed into a larger, local law enforcement agency; For example, the New York City Transit Police being amalgamated into the NYPD Transit Bureau.

Railroad police

Where the term "transit police" is used for a law enforcement agency or unit working for a railroad/railway, it usually refers to a railroad providing urban mass transit as opposed to long-distance rail carriage.
Law enforcement agencies of both cargo railroads and long-haul rail carriers are usually referred to as "railroad police" or "railway police". There is often considerable overlap in transit police and railroad police agencies’ duties. Railroad police agencies, however, have a long history, and were established separate from and prior to most modern transit police agencies. Transit police and railroad police powers may also be legally defined separately; For example, in the United States, many states have separate laws concerning both types of agencies.
However, in modern times, with increasing overlap in duties and the proliferation of extensive mass transit systems, some jurisdictions have opted for a hybrid model of railroad and transit policing. For instance, in the United Kingdom, most of the rail systems, including the London Underground, are policed by the British Transport Police. The BTP is a full-service, national law enforcement agency, which essentially combined the duties of dozens of now-defunct transit and railway police agencies into a single entity.

Powers

Some transit police forces have full policing powers, such as the US' BART Police, SEPTA's Transit Police, Metro Transit Police Department, Utah Transit Authority Police Department or the MBTA Police. The UK's British Transport Police, also has full police powers within Great Britain. In some areas, transit police agencies have limited or specific powers, and may be classed as special police or special constables, or peace officers with limited powers, such as Canada's Edmonton Transit Peace Officers. Regardless, transit police services nearly always hold more authority than un-sworn, security guard-only services.

Crimes

Some of the crimes transit police and railroad police investigate include trespassing on the right-of-way of a railroad, assaults against passengers, tagging of graffiti on railroad rolling stock and buses or bus stops, pickpocketing, ticket fraud, robbery and theft of personal belongings, baggage or freight, and drug dealing at transit stations. They may also engage in random ticket checking hoping to catch and fine ticketless travelers. These controls are usually more frequent in transit systems using an honor-based fare collecting approach.

Jurisdiction and authority

In federal states like the United States, Canada, or Australia, federal and state statutes determine the jurisdiction and authority of all police departments, including transit police.
Most transit police services have the same police authority as any other national, state and local police agencies, such as the MBTA Transit Police Department, MARTA Transit Police, British Transport Police, New Jersey Transit Police Department, BART Police, Maryland Transit Administration Police, DART Police, SEPTA Transit Police, Utah Transit Authority Police Department, and the Metro Vancouver Transit Police. Some agencies have rather extensive jurisdictions, including traffic enforcement and arrest powers on and off property.

List of specialised transit/transport police agencies and departments

[Australia]

New South Wales
Queensland
  • Railway Squad, Queensland Police
  • Authorised Officers, Queensland Rail
  • Translink Senior Network Officers, Translink
  • Customer Service Officers, G:link
  • Translink Network Officers employed by Bus Operator companies under contract to Translink
South Australia
  • Transit Services Branch, South Australia Police. Private security also maintain a presence, especially during peak hours or events.
Victoria
Western Australia

Police services

There are two transit police agencies in Canada: the Metro Vancouver Transit Police, a provincially-regulated "designated policing unit" within TransLink, the transit authority for the Metro Vancouver Regional District in British Columbia; and the Via Rail Police Service, a federally-regulated railway police force operated by Via Rail, the provider of intercity rail service for all of Canada. There are also two other federally-regulated railway police services serving the country's two largest freight railways, the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City.

Special constabularies

In Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, large transit systems maintain special constabularies, a type of unarmed police force, to provide safety and law enforcement services on transit property. These agencies have authority over transit by-laws and provincial legislation; the Criminal Code of Canada in Ontario and Quebec; and their officers variously have the ability to use emergency vehicles with sirens and carry a baton, handcuffs, and pepper spray or gel.
List of transit special constabularies in Canada
  • Calgary Transit Public Safety and Enforcement Section
  • Edmonton Transit Protective Services
  • GO Transit Customer Protective Services
  • OC Transpo Special Constable Unit
  • Société de Transport de Montréal Sûreté des réseaux
  • Toronto Transit Commission Transit Enforcement Unit
  • Winnipeg Transit Safety Officers
  • York Region Transit Enforcement and Security

    [People's Republic of China]

Cities in China which have rapid transit systems all have their transit police force associated to the local public security bureau. There are no non-governmental police forces, or police institutes under transit authority. National Rail used to have a police force under the Ministry of Railways, but such authority has since been transferred to local police agencies.
However, the structure of institutions can be vary from city to city. For example, cities like Tianjin and Chengdu might have a joint public transportation force of division level, operates on all the taxis, bus routes, coaches, rapid transit and ferry lines as well as transportation hubs inside city limit; while Chongqing and Xi'an have tighter transit cop brigades focused exclusively on protecting the mass transit lines. Again, all these agencies are supervised by the PSBs of higher level.

[Hong Kong]

  • Railway District, Hong Kong Police Force

    [France]

  • Police Régionale des Transports - operates on Paris' suburban trains, and metro
  • Service National de Police Ferroviaire - operates on mainline trains
  • Service Interdépartemental de Sécurité dans les Transports en Commun - Police Nationale - Direction Centrale de la Sécurité Publique
  • Surveillance Générale - operates on SNCF railways. This private service, run by the SNCF, has restricted police powers
  • Groupe de Protection et de Sécurisation des Réseaux - operates on RATP railways. This private service, run by the RATP, has restricted police powers
  • Police des Transports de l'Agglo Orléans Val de Loire - operates on bus, tram and train service in the Orléans Métropole

    [Germany]

  • former German Democratic Republic: Transportpolizei
  • Federal Republic of Germany: Bahnpolizei

    [India]

  • Railway Protection Force
The Railway Protection Force is a security force, established by the Railway Protection Force Act, 1957 ; enacted by the Parliament of India for "the better protection and security of railway property". The force is under the authority of the Ministry of Railways.
It has the power to search, arrest, investigate and prosecute, though the ultimate power rests in the hands of the Government Railway Police.
  • Commando for Railway Security
  • Government Railway Police
The Government Railway Police, abbreviated as GRP, is the police force of the respective state governments, tasked with policing on railways and their premises. It operates under the respective state police forces. It was established by the Railways Act, 1989, of the Parliament of India. Its duties correspond to those of the District Police in the areas under their jurisdiction, such as patrolling and prevention and detection of crimes but only on railway property. It is the parent agency of the Railway Protection Force, and aids and provides assistance to it, whose primary duties are to protect and secure all railway property.
The GRP's responsibility is to observe law and order on all railway property. Officers are recruited from the Indian Police Service and State Police Services. The force is under control of the police departments of the various State Police Services in liaison with Ministry of Railways.