British Transport Police

BTP is a national specialist police force with full constabulary powers. Its officers hold the office of constable and have the same powers as officers in the 43 Home Office forces. It polices stations, trains, railway infrastructure and the London Underground, with approximately 3,000 officers and 1,400 police staff. Established under the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003. Railway police have existed in some form since the 1820s.

BTP is funded primarily by the rail industry through a Police Services Agreement. Train operators, Network Rail and other rail bodies pay for BTP policing. The public does not fund BTP through council tax or central government grant. This creates an accountability tension unique in British policing: the force is answerable in significant part to the commercial entities it polices. A train operator dissatisfied with BTP has financial leverage through the agreement. A member of the public dissatisfied has no equivalent mechanism.

The British Transport Police Authority oversees BTP. The BTPA is appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport, not the Home Secretary. Its members are not elected. There is no PCC equivalent. There is no elected accountability to the public for BTP's governance.

This is the most significant accountability gap. HMICFRS inspects the 43 Home Office forces on a rolling PEEL cycle. BTP is inspected only when specifically commissioned by the Transport Minister. There is no automatic cycle. The most recent full PEEL-style inspection was commissioned in 2021 and published February 2024, a three-year gap. The vetting and counter-corruption inspection was conducted in October 2022 and also published February 2024.

The HMICFRS inspection of BTP's vetting and counter-corruption arrangements, published February 2024, found BTP inadequate in this area. This was a cause of concern. Vetting determines who joins and remains in policing. An inadequate grade in a force of 3,000 officers with full constabulary powers operating across the rail network is a significant finding. In response the BTPA introduced the BTP (Vetting) Regulations 2025 on 28 January 2026, mirroring the Home Office regime including the new power to dismiss officers who fail vetting. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 extended the barred list to BTP officers dismissed for misconduct, alongside the NCA, Civil Nuclear Constabulary and Ministry of Defence Police.

• Online at btp.police.uk/contact/complaints
• By calling BTP on 0800 40 50 40
• By writing to BTP's Professional Standards Department
• Through the IOPC at policeconduct.gov.uk if BTP's PSD has not resolved your complaint
• Complaints about chief officers go to the British Transport Police Authority at btpa.police.uk

BTP complaints are handled under the British Transport Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2020, separate from but broadly similar to the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020. The IOPC's powers are broadly equivalent.

BTP has full police powers on the railway, including stations, trains, infrastructure, the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, and some light rail systems. Home Office territorial forces retain concurrent jurisdiction in some circumstances and there are sometimes questions about which force should respond near railway boundaries. BTP is also the listed police force for Foulness Island in Essex, the restricted MoD site managed by QinetiQ, a quirk of geography rather than an operational matter.

The government is establishing Great British Railways, a new public body bringing together infrastructure and services currently split between Network Rail and the train operators. GBR will raise questions about BTP's funding model, governance and the Police Services Agreement. The BTPA has been considering implications for its size, governance and relationship with the new body.