John Mara wrote:
wrote:




That's a curious interpretation of the duty of government! My house is
private property too, but I'd be pretty shocked if I were told that
someone who vandalised it would not be searched for or prosecuted
because it was private property and therefore my duty to find and
obtain redress privately.

I would not be at all shocked if the police took a report, gave you a
copy for your insurance company, and filed the report away.


Yes, of course that's what they'd do, but it's not the same as saying
(as I thought you were) "sorry, that's private property - none of the
state's business." Maybe I misinterpreted what you said but.....


John, you misunderstand the purpose of the criminal justice system. It
is not to obtain redress between citizens - which is why compensation
is rarely paid and only in nominal sums.

I understand the purpose of the criminal justice system. I am saying
that privatization looks good on paper because many costs are still
borne by the taxpayers. The railway companies do not provide adequate
security for their facilities and they expect the government to make up
for their lack of effort.


Surely the cost of prosecuting (and preventing crime in general) is
borne by the taxpayer whether the property concerned is publicly-owned
(as it would be if the railways were still nationalised) or privately
owned. I understand your concerns over privatisation of the railways,
and probably agree with your view of that, but what has this got to do
with the state prosecuting criminals?


Marc.

wrote:

Surely the cost of prosecuting (and preventing crime in general) is
borne by the taxpayer whether the property concerned is publicly-owned
(as it would be if the railways were still nationalised) or privately
owned. I understand your concerns over privatisation of the railways,
and probably agree with your view of that, but what has this got to do
with the state prosecuting criminals?

I guess I was looking at it more from the policing side than the
prosecution side. Did British Rail have railway police? Do the new
private companies have their own police?

As far a getting rid of graffiti goes, the New York City Transit
Authority got rid of graffiti by cleaning it up as soon as it happened.
There were graffiti cleaning crews at most terminals. I was once on a
train which had some fresh graffiti on one side. I was sitting in the
first car so I overheard the radio conversation between the train
operator and the dispatcher. We had to wait for the other terminal
track to open up so that the graffiti would be on the platform side
where the cleaners could get at it. On the other hand, NYCTA has had no
luck at dealing with window scratching. I suppose replacing the window
every time would be too expensive. I wonder if the scratch repair
products used on car windshields would work.

John Mara

"John Mara" wrote

I guess I was looking at it more from the policing side than the
prosecution side. Did British Rail have railway police? Do the new
private companies have their own police?

British Transport Police are a national police force, funded by the rail
industry. They predated British Rail, and trace their history back to 1826,
making them one of the oldest police forces in the world.

http://www.btp.police.uk/History%20S...ety%20Main.htm

Peter

"Peter Masson" wrote in message
...

"John Mara" wrote

I guess I was looking at it more from the policing side than the
prosecution side. Did British Rail have railway police? Do the new
private companies have their own police?

British Transport Police are a national police force, funded by the rail
industry. They predated British Rail, and trace their history back to
1826,
making them one of the oldest police forces in the world.

http://www.btp.police.uk/History%20S...ety%20Main.htm

I saw a very interesting "Illustrated Talk" by Sgt. Kevin Gordon (BTP) at
the National Rail Museum at York on Sunday afternoon. Well recommended.
--
Ken Ward

"Society for the production of Maritime Reefs using MerseyRail 142's"
(For membership email... )
"Leave the Mobile Phone at home day Oct 25th 2006"

"John Mara" wrote in message
...

As far a getting rid of graffiti goes, the New York City Transit Authority
got rid of graffiti by cleaning it up as soon as it happened. There were
graffiti cleaning crews at most terminals. I was once on a train which
had some fresh graffiti on one side. I was sitting in the first car so I
overheard the radio conversation between the train operator and the
dispatcher.

Hopefully not "Pelham 123, come in please" g

We had to wait for the other terminal track to open up so that the
graffiti would be on the platform side where the cleaners could get at it.

This seemed to be the approach taken by the Barcelona Metro - you had to be
sharp to see graffiti. It was dealt with as a priority. The only evidence of
vandalism you *could* see was ...

On the other hand, NYCTA has had no luck at dealing with window
scratching.

.... yep, you got it.

--
Tim

Fly Monarch Airlines - feed that paranoia

"John Mara" wrote in message
...

I guess I was looking at it more from the policing side than the
prosecution side. Did British Rail have railway police? Do the new
private companies have their own police?


The British Transport Police, formed in 1825 (1), deal with railway related
crime.

(1) http://www.btp.police.uk/History%20S...ety%20Main.htm

As far a getting rid of graffiti goes, the New York City Transit Authority
got rid of graffiti by cleaning it up as soon as it happened. There were
graffiti cleaning crews at most terminals. I was once on a train which
had some fresh graffiti on one side. I was sitting in the first car so I
overheard the radio conversation between the train operator and the
dispatcher. We had to wait for the other terminal track to open up so
that the graffiti would be on the platform side where the cleaners could
get at it.

On London Underground, trains are normally sent to depot at the first
opportunity to have grafiiti removed, once reported. If it is wet of
offensive, the train is normally taken out of service and sent to depot for
cleaning immediately.

On the other hand, NYCTA has had no luck at dealing with window
scratching. I suppose replacing the window every time would be too
expensive. I wonder if the scratch repair products used on car
windshields would work.

Sacrificial plastic coatings are being used on refurbished District Line
trains to prevent the damage done by "Dutch etching".