Policing Public Transport: A Neglected History

 Having read Paul Robb's obituary of our late Chief Constable, Desmond O'Brien, in the latest edition of the the BTPHG Newsletter I was struck by just what an innovator he was.  This also came over in the excellent eulogy given at his funeral by Peter Holden .  With this in mind I dug out of the archives the Force's first mission statement that was introduced under his leadership in the early 1990s  (see image).  It was a thoroughly modern document. It has stood the test of time.  Its emphasis on ethical policing and on the needs of the victim are as important today as they were 25 years ago.  I recall him lecturing us about the idea of 'treating each call as if it came from a member of your family'.  He warned against it becoming a 'mere slogan' and reminded us that such strap lines would only have meaning if police officers believed in them. His contribution to the policing of the railways of Great Britain amounts to an important chapter in our history.  

 After writing the post about the anniversaries that fall on 28th February I had an opportunity to look in the BTP Hisotry Group Archive.  There isn't much about Stechford, only a couple of newspaper items.  But there was also this letter from the Coroner pointing to the high quality of statement taking.  These days such an incident would have attracted a much larger inquiry but in 1967 the work of a few officers in investigating the incident and establishing the underlying reasons was crucial and, as demonstrated by the letter, essential for the purposes of a public hearing. Letter from HM Coroner to BTP Divisional Commander re investigation into the Stechford Railway accident 1967.  Ref BTPHG D/Stech