Will transport police still be there to deal with rowdies who go off the rails?
The First Minister told parliament she intends to keep passengers safe.
By Bill Heaney
If you are assaulted or get caught up in a fight on a train coming back to West Dunbartonshire from Glasgow late at night, will you still have to wait for the British Transport Police to arrive and restore order?
Or will Police Scotland be able to turn on the blue lights and sirens Z Cars-style and speed to the next station to bring peace to the situation?
Labour MSP has asked First Minister Nicola Sturgeon whether the much talked about proposal to merge Police Scotland and the British Transport Police has been permanently abandoned.
But Ms Sturgeon said: “We remain committed to the devolution of railway policing, as agreed by all parties in the Parliament during the Smith commission.
“We have worked on options to improve the accountability of railway policing.
“There is consensus that current legislation could be used to create an arrangement that facilitates a stronger role for the Scottish Police Authority.
“The SPA and the British Transport Police Authority are considering how that should be done, and they aim to present proposals to their respective boards in the coming months.
“It would be premature to rule out any option at this time, but any proposal must enhance the accountability of railway policing in Scotland, while ensuring the safety and security of the travelling public.”
But Daniel Johnson was not content with the FM’s answer.
He said: “After almost two years and hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ pounds having been spent on finding a way to achieve the integration of the BTP into Police Scotland, it is clear to everyone—if not the First Minister—that integration is simply not possible.
“The uncertainly that staff and officers have faced will not end until full integration is permanently ruled out. Will the First Minister take the opportunity to go further than the letter that was sent to staff and officers this week, which said that there will not be a transfer, and confirm that the plan for full integration has been permanently scrapped?
“Will she confirm when the fatally flawed Railway Policing (Scotland) Act 2017 will be repealed?”
Ms Sturgeon said: “As Daniel Johnson recognised, this work is challenging and complex. Considerable work has been done to assess all the risks and challenges and we have engaged with stakeholders throughout the process. A stakeholder engagement event was held in November to explore all the options.
“The option that is currently being developed will involve the establishment of a new committee to oversee railway policing in Scotland, which will comprise members of the Scottish Police Authority and the British Transport Police Authority. Those authorities have been working closely on the proposed terms of reference for the new committee.
“They are making good progress and it is hoped that they will be in a position to present proposals to their respective boards in the coming months. I give an undertaking today that the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity will update Parliament [Michael Matheson] once the negotiations are included.
“That is the right way to proceed to ensure that arrangements are in place to enhance the accountability of railway policing in Scotland—which, I hope, all members want—and to ensure the safety and security of the travelling public and those who work in our transport police.”
Tory Liam Kerr congratulated the majority of MSPs “for forcing the Scottish National Party to concede that erecting a border on Britain’s railways is a dreadful idea”
He added: “How much taxpayers’ money has been wasted in the pursuit of full integration thus far?”
But the First Minister hit back: “We will create a national infrastructure police force, bringing together the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, the Ministry of Defence Police and the British Transport Police to improve the protection of critical infrastructure.”
John Mason, who represents Shettleston for the SNP, said: “Ordinary constituents in my constituency do not understand why there should be one police force for the street outside the railway station and a separate police force for the railway station itself?
“My ordinary constituents want a much more joined-up approach than we have had in the past.”
The Green Party’s John Finnie asked the FM if she shared his concern “that there are hundreds of police officers here in Scotland who can exercise the power of arrest on our citizens and enter and search our premises but who have no political accountability in Scotland?”