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Railway detectives in the United Kingdom

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Specific reference to "constables" rather than mere "policemen" is made by the BTP website article "A History of Policing the Railway" which states "The London, Birmingham and Liverpool Railway Companion of 1838 reports 'Each Constable, besides being in the employ of the company, is sworn as a County
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practice within railway staff for their modern equivalents in signal boxes and signalling centres to be called "Bobbies"). These personnel carried out their duties mostly in the open beside the track and were often dressed in a similar manner (e.g. a top hat and frock coat) to early police constables
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Each had its own police force controlled by a chief of police. These four forces were organised in the same way; each split into a number of divisions headed by a superintendent, divided into a number of divisions posts led by an inspector. Detectives worked with their uniformed colleagues at most
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was passed. They were not, however, described as "constables" and the description may refer to men controlling the trains rather than enforcing the law. Historical references (including those originating from the BTP itself) to when the first group of true "constables" was organised to patrol a
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The continually expanding network of railways gave criminals new opportunities to move around the country and commit crime. The railways were pioneers of the electric telegraph and its use often involved the arrest of criminals arriving or departing by train. On 1 January 1845 a railway police
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locations. Many 'non-police' duties were retained, however, with officers acting as crossing keepers or locking and sealing wagons. During the Second World War, the strength of the railway police doubled. With many men conscripted, special constables and women police were again employed. With
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by editing this article to remove any non-free copyrighted content and attributing free content correctly, or flagging the content for deletion. Please be sure that the supposed source of the copyright violation is not itself a
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Some early-19th-century references to "railway police" or "policemen" do not concern constables but instead describe the men responsible for the signalling and control of the movement of trains (it is still common
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Detectives and police may have been employed by private railway companies in the United Kingdom almost right from the start of passenger services in the 1820s, with the first definitive reference dating to 1838.
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https://web.archive.org/web/20070605144555/http://www.btp.police.uk/History%20Society/Publications/History%20Society/The%20history/Printable/History%20of%20Policing%20the%20Railway%20Printable.htm
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was passed, which required railway and other companies to bear the cost of constables keeping the peace near construction works. The BTP history page states that "according to J. R. Whitbread in
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refers to the police establishment of "One Superintendent, four officers and numerous gate-keepers". This is the first mention of railway police anywhere and was three years before the
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lost 76 pieces of luggage in just one day, and by the following year thefts from the largest six railways amounted to over ยฃ100,000 a year. The first railway murder was committed by
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train in 1864; however, railway police were not involved in his apprehension. The first arrest abroad by the British police was made in 1874 when a
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to patrol land and/or property under their control, distinct from the establishment of a police force by statute, as applicable to the
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but were not directly concerned with law enforcement. Occasional references to a "Police Department" in railway staff records at the
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amalgamated over one hundred separate railway systems (of which about 20 had organised police forces) into four groups:
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A huge workforce was required to build the ever-expanding railway system. These armies of rough workers โ€“
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The first railway employees described as "police" can be traced back to 30 June 1826. A regulation of the
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conveyed by rail for the first time - the first rail mail thefts were reported shortly afterwards.
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to Inspector Frederick Croft, a railway police officer who lost his life saving a woman's life at
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relate to signalmen and others, although some of them were simultaneously county constables.
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inspector accompanied by a railway police inspector went to the United States to arrest an
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Constable.'" The resulting railway company forces were formed by powers available under
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virtually reformed their police force from scratch in that year, followed by the
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sergeant became the first person to arrest a murderer following the use of an
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From 1900, several railway companies re-organised their police forces. The
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Specialist law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom
317:, who robbed and killed a fellow passenger on a 162:railway should thus be treated with caution. 8: 525:Defunct police forces of the United Kingdom 399:, these were ultimately subsumed into the 250:, landowners and other bodies to appoint 229:Learn how and when to remove this message 126:Learn how and when to remove this message 432:"Metropolitan Police Records of Service" 339:London, Brighton and South Coast Railway 89:This article includes a list of general 422: 413:British Transport Police ยง History 7: 515:Rail transport in the United Kingdom 383:London, Midland and Scottish Railway 211:adding citations to reliable sources 461:"A History of Policing the Railway" 401:British Transport Commission Police 95:it lacks sufficient corresponding 14: 377:London and North Eastern Railway 187: 80: 20: 198:needs additional citations for 155:Stockton and Darlington Railway 1: 483:"The Scottish Railway Police" 41:Knowledge's copyright policy 267:Special Constables Act 1838 541: 410: 510:Railroad police agencies 487:British Transport Police 465:British Transport Police 311:Eastern Counties Railway 295:Woolwich Arsenal station 29:This article or section 357:in 1917 and lastly the 159:Metropolitan Police Act 110:more precise citations. 35:from another location, 298: 271:The Railway Policeman' 430:Metropolitan Police. 371:Great Western Railway 359:Great Western Railway 347:North Eastern Railway 343:Great Eastern Railway 288: 319:North London Railway 207:improve this article 436:Metropolitan Police 323:Metropolitan Police 256:Metropolitan Police 355:Caledonian Railway 304:electric telegraph 299: 363:Railways Act 1921 239: 238: 231: 173:National Archives 136: 135: 128: 74: 73: 33:copied and pasted 532: 495: 494: 489:. Archived from 479: 473: 472: 467:. Archived from 457: 451: 450: 448: 447: 438:. Archived from 427: 389:Southern Railway 234: 227: 223: 220: 214: 191: 183: 131: 124: 120: 117: 111: 106:this article by 97:inline citations 84: 83: 76: 69: 66: 60: 57:Knowledge mirror 39:in violation of 24: 16: 540: 539: 535: 534: 533: 531: 530: 529: 500: 499: 498: 493:on 29 May 2007. 481: 480: 476: 471:on 5 June 2007. 459: 458: 454: 445: 443: 442:on 11 July 2006 429: 428: 424: 420: 415: 409: 397:nationalisation 351:Midland Railway 335: 283: 235: 224: 218: 215: 204: 192: 181: 151: 132: 121: 115: 112: 102:Please help to 101: 85: 81: 70: 64: 61: 45: 25: 12: 11: 5: 538: 536: 528: 527: 522: 517: 512: 502: 501: 497: 496: 474: 452: 421: 419: 416: 411:Main article: 408: 405: 392: 391: 385: 379: 373: 334: 331: 291:Postman's Park 282: 279: 237: 236: 195: 193: 186: 180: 177: 150: 141: 134: 133: 88: 86: 79: 72: 71: 65:September 2024 46:Please review 31:may have been 28: 26: 19: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 537: 526: 523: 521: 518: 516: 513: 511: 508: 507: 505: 492: 488: 484: 478: 475: 470: 466: 462: 456: 453: 441: 437: 433: 426: 423: 417: 414: 406: 404: 402: 398: 390: 386: 384: 380: 378: 374: 372: 368: 367: 366: 364: 361:in 1918. The 360: 356: 353:in 1910, the 352: 348: 344: 340: 332: 330: 328: 324: 320: 316: 312: 307: 305: 296: 292: 287: 280: 278: 276: 272: 268: 264: 259: 257: 253: 249: 245: 233: 230: 222: 219:February 2021 212: 208: 202: 201: 196:This section 194: 190: 185: 184: 178: 176: 174: 169: 163: 160: 156: 149: 145: 142: 140: 130: 127: 119: 109: 105: 99: 98: 92: 87: 78: 77: 68: 58: 53: 49: 43: 42: 38: 34: 27: 23: 18: 17: 491:the original 486: 477: 469:the original 464: 455: 444:. Retrieved 440:the original 435: 425: 393: 336: 315:Franz Muller 309:In 1848 the 308: 300: 289:Memorial at 270: 260: 240: 225: 216: 205:Please help 200:verification 197: 164: 152: 147: 143: 137: 122: 113: 94: 62: 36: 30: 108:introducing 52:remedy this 50:  and 504:Categories 446:2014-02-19 418:References 407:After 1947 275:Royal Mail 263:navigators 252:constables 244:common law 168:colloquial 91:references 333:1900โ€“1945 327:embezzler 281:1845โ€“1900 258:in 1829. 148:constable 144:Policeman 297:in 1878. 248:parishes 116:May 2024 37:possibly 146:versus 104:improve 345:, the 93:, but 387:The 381:The 375:The 369:The 349:and 179:1838 246:to 209:by 506:: 485:. 463:. 434:. 403:. 329:. 306:. 449:. 232:) 226:( 221:) 217:( 203:. 129:) 123:( 118:) 114:( 100:. 67:) 63:( 59:. 44:.

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