The Act Schedule 5: Powers exercisable by accredited persons Section 43: Railway safety accreditation scheme
254.This section allows the Secretary of State to make regulations to enable the chief constable of the BTP to establish and maintain a railway safety accreditation scheme. The scheme would be largely modelled on the community safety accreditation schemes of chief officers of Home Office police forces provided for in section 40, albeit that the railway safety accreditation scheme may differ where necessary to meet the specific needs of the railways. For example, it would allow the BTP’s chief constable to accredit suitably trained security staff employed by train operating companies with powers to deal with certain anti-social activity on the railways.
255.Subsection (2) defines the railway safety accreditation scheme by reference to its geographical extent and the powers available to those accredited under that scheme. The scheme is limited to the railways jurisdiction of the BTP, whose jurisdiction is defined in section 53(3) of the British Transport Commission Act 1949 as ‘in, on or in the vicinity of policed premises in England and Wales’. ‘Policed premises’ are in essence the areas of railway property that are policed by the BTP.
256.Subsection (3) allows the regulations permitting the setting up and maintenance of the railway safety accreditation scheme to define its purpose, the procedure to be followed when establishing the scheme and the matters that must be contained in that scheme.
257.Subsection (4) allows the regulations to make provision on who may be accredited under the railway safety accreditation scheme and the procedure and criteria used in their accreditation.
258.Subsection (5) allows the regulations to confer powers on a person accredited under the railway safety accreditation scheme. The effect of subsection (6) is that, with two exceptions, only the powers available to an accredited person under a community safety accreditation scheme, listed in Schedule 5 to this Act, may be conferred on a person accredited under the railway safety accreditation scheme. The two powers, listed in subsection (7), that are not included in Schedule 5 but can be conferred on such accredited persons are the powers to issue ‘on the spot’ fixed penalty notices for the offences of trespassing on a railway and throwing stones at trains.
259.Subsection (8) allows the regulations permitting the setting up and maintenance of the railway safety accreditation scheme to apply to a person accredited under that scheme any of the provisions of Chapter 1 that can be applied to a person accredited under a community safety accredited scheme. The community safety accreditation scheme provisions can be applied with modifications if necessary.
260.Subsection (9) lists those persons whom the Secretary of State must consult before making regulations under subsection (1). He must consult the chief constable of the BTP, and the British Transport Police Committee. He must consult those whom he considers represent the interests of police authorities and chief officers of police. Where this formulation occurs in existing legislation, the Secretary of State currently consults the APA and ACPO and/or CPOSA. The Secretary of State must also consult the Mayor of London and those whom he considers represent the interests of local authorities. He may in addition consult anyone else he chooses.