British Transport Police

About the British Transport Police

The BTP are the national police force for the railways who provide a service to rail operators, staff and passengers across the country.

Over 8.6 million passengers use the railways in the UK every day. There are over 3,600 police officers, police community support officers and special officers who not only police the railways, but also cover the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, the Midland Metro tram system, Croydon Tramlink, Tyne and Wear Metro, Glasgow Subway and Emirates AirLine.

HMICFRS’s role in inspecting this force

HMICFRS independently assesses police forces and policing across activity from neighbourhood teams to serious crime and the fight against terrorism – in the public interest.

We inspect the BTP when we are commissioned to do so by the Minister of State for Transport.

We ask the questions that we believe the public wish to have answered, and publish our findings, conclusions and recommendations. We use our expertise to interpret the evidence and make recommendations for improvement.