View Single Post
  #21   Report Post  
Old October 12th 09, 08:03 PM posted to uk.railway,uk.transport.london,uk.local.london
[email protected][_2_] jonporter1052@btinternet.com[_2_] is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Oct 2009
Posts: 28
Default Cops caught in free first class rail rap.

On 12 Oct, 07:19, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 07:13:21 on Mon, 12 Oct
2009, Miles Bader remarked:

Most off-duty police officers will intervene if something "kicks off"
in their vicinity.


... which is far less likely to occur in first class, would you not
agree? How very convenient for them.


Still, something probably happens occasionally. *What they could do is
have a small number of "first class upgrades" available to police
officers and have a lottery to make them available to those officers who
wish to use the service.


Given that these are police commuting to their jobs mainly in Central
London from the suburbs, are there really that many services with FC?
--
Roland Perry


To address Polsons point about "police freebies" the idea originated
from the railway industry back in BR days following a similar
initiative by LT on buses and tube. All London and bordering forces
were offered the facility and it was advertised both in papers and
Police Review. I had the chance to use the BR facility, for reasns
that will become apparant, but on occasion did use the LT facility.
During the late 1980s I was on a day out from Reading in London and
displayed my warrant card at the barrier for Euston Square and as I
did so the staff member pointed along the corridor saying "Your mates
need help along there.' I was then involved in a violent incident
where staff and BTP officers were attacked. The details are not
important but I ended up arresting one of several assailants who had
caused serious facial injuries to a member of staff and then attacked
two uniformed officers. A few days later I get a call to attend the
Reading Chief Superintendents Office (a good old fashioned hard nosed
copper called John Webb, liked by most, but feared by all). He'd
received a letter of thanks from the senior officer covering the
station where the BTP officers were based. I was asked to relate my
side and he was all smiles. Then the question, 'How did the staff know
who you were?" 'I showed my warrant card at the barrier.' Mr Webb
then exploded with rage, a sight which at close quarters is something
that sends the sphincter twitching. Unknown to me, when a few years
earlier the free travel facility was offered to the above mentioned
police forces, Colin Smith, the then Chief Constable, had told all
officers that Thames Valley Police Officers would not be allowed to
take advantage of the scheme. No one had told me, in fact no one on my
shift of 30 officers was aware. So I had a brief well done, followed
by a monster bollocking.