Christine Hurley reports on our visit to the British Transport Police Specialist Operations Department.

Taking a peak behind the scenes and getting an insight into the more unusual jobs in the transport sector is a feature of our events programme. One of our recent revelations was a visit to the British Transport Police (BTP) Specialist Operations Department in North London, where we discovered the amazing contribution women make to keeping our railways safe and secure.

It was a such an interesting and enlightening experience, meeting women doing incredible jobs such as firearms officers, dog handlers, members of the Working at Heights Team and the Specialist Response Unit.

The BTP police the daily journeys of more than 6 million passengers on the railway network, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, the Midland Metro tram system, Croydon Tramlink, Tyne and Wear Metro, Glasgow Subway and Emirates AirLine.

All members of the Specialist Operations team spend two years as a regular police officer before choosing their speciality.

The first group I met was the Working at Heights Team who, as well as dealing with railway incidents, offer additional support and resource to the Met Police in managing public disruption. They demonstrated the tools of their trade, including harnesses, stretchers and cutting equipment which they use in a vast range of incidents. This could be anything from scaling a viaduct to rescue a potential suicide victim to searching station rooftops for criminals. They were also tasked with removing people from the boat in Oxford Circus and detaching activists from railings during the recent Extinction Rebellion protests.

PC Lisa Levington, who works with the operational support unit, explained how her job also involves regular police work such as taking part in dawn raids on the homes of criminals who have so far evaded capture.

Next I got to meet Sophie Wood, a dog handler, and her delightful companion Bella, an explosive search dog. Bella is trained to proactively sniff out explosives and would be sent in to the aftermath of terrorist attacks to ensure there are no secondary devices. She can also detect a vast array of illegal substances being carried on the railways.

PC Matt Spencer, the Dog Sergeant for London, is paired with the far more fierce looking German Shepherd dog, Rocky, who is classified as a General Purpose Dog. You will see dogs like Rocky, with their handlers, patrolling the railway network but they are called upon in all manner of incidents such as violent assault, missing people and burglaries as well as working with the firearms teams to find and deal with suspects.

Being a police dog handler is very much a vocation as they get to be with their dogs 24/7, 365 days a year. Sophie and Matt clearly regard Bella and Rocky as part of their families and Matt said that while Rocky would terrify a criminal he is as as gentle as a lamb with his children.

My next conversation was with Authorised Firearms Officers (AFO), PC Ellen Horsted. We are used to seeing AFOs patrolling the busy London Railway hubs, both as a deterrent and protection against terrorist attacks.

Ellen displayed the daunting weapons she has been trained to use which included a range of hand guns, rifles and pistols. As well as demonstrating how these weapons are loaded she showed how, despite her slight stature, she could deftly lift heavy equipment to shoulder level when required to batter down a door in a dawn raid. We also saw her body armour, which goes way beyond any PPE we have come across before. The dedication, courage and strength of the AFOs was truly awesome.

My last stop was a session with the Specialist Response Unit (SRU) who, Iike all the other officers we met, deal with a whole range of incidents on the railway. However, their additional training and skills mean they can respond to reports of suspicious and unusual items on the railway and underground network that could be terrorist-related.

The SRU have the technical capability to assess packages, bags, suspicious smells, powders, liquids and chemicals so they can decide whether it is necessary to call in an explosives expert. This whole process can be completed quickly without compromising safety and keeps disruption to the minimum.

PC Josie Weston, an SRU officer, showed us the range of equipment used in their job which includes breathing apparatus, radiation monitors, mobile X-ray machines, chemical resistant gas tight suits for use in chemical incidents and acid attacks and chemical agent monitors that enable them to decide whether a substance is a threat or not.

After our tour of the SRU, we were welcomed by Assistant Chief Constable O'Callaghan. He explained that, historically, the BTP has been seen as secondary to the National Police Force but this is no longer the case. The BTP has a chair at the highest level meetings, including COBRA, and works alongside the Met in providing support and resources for incidents in the capital city. Each of the officers we had met had been deployed in London's recent major terrorist related incidents and high profile protests and he praised their courage, saying they were all 'putting their life on the line and going above and beyond the call of duty'.

He told us that, across the national police force, the representation of women is 30 per cent but in the BTP it is just 21 per cent, which is pretty much inline with the rest of the transport sector.

His experience is that women do not apply for positions unless they feel they feel they are 100 per cent qualified to do the job. He wants to encourage women, with the all important leadership skills, to apply for these roles. He said that men don't arrive knowing how to fasten a harness or fire a gun, these are all skills that can be learned later. Fitness and agility are, of course, an essential requirement for the job but the BTP is looking at ways of adapting and using equipment if this is a concern to women.

This excellent event was rounded off with refreshments and networking and we all agreed that we had learned so much about the invaluable work of the BTP and are all truly grateful to them for keeping us safe.

Here are some of our members' comments:

“Wow what an eye opener on all they do, it was great to meet the amazing female officers and actually see what they have to go through in their roles as well as see their uniform and equipment they have to wear, which is so heavy!”
“All the officers were engaging, enthusiastic and happy to answer endless questions. It really brought home to me the breadth of work they do to keep us safe.”
“Really enjoyed the hands on demonstration of equipment and tools and dogs, also the honest conversations with BTP staff - men and women. Very insightful.”
“Really really great event, very open very friendly and approachable. Learned tons and the atmosphere was great.”
“A fantastic insight into the incredible work that the BTP Specialist Operations department do. It was a real privilege to meet these officers who put their lives on the line to protect us.”
“You truly realise how much these heroes do for us to keep our City and Transport safe and is inspiring for us to all do more. “

Our grateful thanks to the British Transport Police for hosting the evening and particularly to Superintendent Alison Evans, Secretary of the British Transport Police Female Police Association, and her colleague PC Emily Harborne, for organising and hosting this very insightful, enjoyable and interesting event.

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