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Bahnpolizei is the term in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland for the Railway police.
Bahnpolizei was the name of the former Railway police of West Germany and fell under the jurisdiction of the Deutsche Bundesbahn federal railway company. Bahnpolizei officers investigated trespassing on rail property, assaults against passengers, terrorism threats targeting the railway, arson, tagging of graffiti on railroad rolling stock or buildings, signal vandalism, pickpocketing, ticket fraud, robbery and theft of personal belongings, baggage or freight. They also investigated train/vehicle collisions and hazardous materials releases.[ citation needed ]
In 1992 the railway security mission was transferred to the Bundesgrenzschutz which resulted in the merger of the Bahnpolizei into the Federal Border Guard Force. The BGS had already taken on these duties in 1990 for the territory of the former East Germany, replacing the former East German Transportpolizei . The Bundesgrenzschutz was then renamed the Bundespolizei (Federal Police) on July 1, 2005, and this force is currently responsible for security and passenger checks on the German railway system.[ citation needed ]
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Switzerland never had a separate transport police because all rail employees had limited police authority. However, due to the introduction of trains with no conductors in the late 1990s, crime in trains increased and the Swiss Federal Railways rail company trained Bahnpolizei officers for its driver-only commuter trains.
In 2002 the SBB-CFF-FFS merged its Bahnpolizei force with the private security company Securitas AG and the resulting Securitrans is now the force that protects Switzerland's trains, passengers, rail property and rail workers.
Since 2011, the rail police has been reorganised, and the Transport Police of Switzerland (Transportpolizei) are state employees, with all officers attending two years of police academy training with final certification.
Transportpolizei officers are sworn as officers to the Swiss Confederation, and thus have the same power to arrest as any other cantonal police officers. As their state counterparts, they usually carry a SIG Sauer P225 and pepper sprays as weapons, along with handcuffs for restrain options.
GSG 9 der Bundespolizei, formerly Grenzschutzgruppe 9, is an elite special forces unit of the German Federal Police (Bundespolizei) to combat terrorism and violent and organized crime. In addition to its headquarters location in Sankt Augustin-Hangelar near Bonn, it has a second location in Berlin. Since 1 August 2017, it has been subordinate to the Federal Police Directorate 11. The state police (Landespolizei) maintain their own regional tactical units known as the Spezialeinsatzkommando (SEK). The GSG 9 unit is made up of approximately 400 highly trained police officers and the identities of GSG 9 members are classified. The specialised unit operates not only within Germany on a federal level, but also safeguards German interests located worldwide, such as embassy property and personnel. Alongside the KSK military special forces of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr), the GSG 9 can also be authorized to rescue citizens abroad in hostage situations.
Swiss Federal Railways is the national railway company of Switzerland.
British Transport Police is a national special police force that polices the railway network of England, Wales and Scotland. The force polices more than 10,000 miles of track and more than 3,000 stations and depots.
The Austrian Federal Railways, now commonly known as ÖBB, is the national railway company of Austria, and the administrator of Liechtenstein's railways. The ÖBB group is owned entirely by the Republic of Austria, and is divided into several separate businesses that manage the infrastructure and operate passenger and freight services.
Railroad police or railway police are people responsible for the protection of railroad properties, facilities, revenue, equipment, and personnel, as well as carried passengers and cargo. Railroad police may also patrol public rail transit systems.
Transit police are specialized police agencies employed either by a common carrier, such as a transit district, railway, railroad, bus line, or another mass transit provider or municipality, county, district, or state.
The Deutsche Volkspolizei, commonly known as the Volkspolizei or VoPo, was the national uniformed police force of the German Democratic Republic from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a highly-centralized agency responsible for most civilian law enforcement in East Germany, maintaining 257,500 personnel at its peak. It worked closely along with the Stasi to maintain public order and identify threats to the regime.
Bundesgrenzschutz is the former name of the German Bundespolizei. Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the BGS originally was primarily focused on protecting the West German borders. During their early days, BGS units had military structures, training and equipment. The law enforcement officers legally had military combatant status until 1994. A major part of the early BGS personnel joined the newly founded German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) in 1956 and thus significantly contributed to West Germany's rearmament. The BGS was renamed to Bundespolizei on 1 July 2005. The change of name did not have any effect on the legal status or competencies of the agency, but rather reflects its transition to a multi-faceted police agency with control over border, railway and air security.
The Transportpolizei was the transit police of the German Democratic Republic, whose officers were commonly nicknamed TraPos. It was part of the Volkspolizei and dealt with all modes of transit but primarily with trains and railroads. It consisted of approximately 8,500 men, that were organized from a national level and at district level with each Deutsche Reichsbahn district; Berlin, Cottbus, Dresden, Erfurt, Greifswald, Halle, Magdeburg and Schwerin. They wore dark-blue uniforms instead of the standard green Volkspolizei uniform. They were organized into sixteen companies and equipped with small arms and RPG-7 shoulder-fired antitank grenade launchers. The Transportpolizei supervised all larger train stations and controlled the travellers, particularly at the border with West Germany, and directed traffic. Before the building of the Berlin Wall, the Transportpolizei controlled the S-Bahn in West Berlin. In the 'interzone courses' there was always an escort party of the Transportpolizei present. The service training school of the Transportpolizei was in Halle.
The Federal Police is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the German Federal Government, being subordinate to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community. The Federal Police is primarily responsible for border protection and railroad and aviation/air security. In addition, the agency is responsible, among other tasks, for the protection of federal constitutional bodies. It provides the federal alert police and GSG 9 special police unit, which can also be used to support the federated states of Germany. Ordinary police forces, meanwhile, are under the administration of the individual German states (Bundesländer) and are known as the Landespolizei. In addition to the Federal Police, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the German Parliament Police exist as further police authorities at the federal level.
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany until after German reunification, when it was merged with the former East German Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) to form Deutsche Bahn, which came into existence on 1 January 1994.
Revenue protection inspector (RPI) or revenue protection officer (RPO) is the job title given to staff who patrol different forms of public transport issuing penalty fares to passengers who travel without a valid ticket or without the correct ticket.
The Canadian Pacific Kansas City Police Service (CPKC Police Service) (formerly known as Canadian Pacific Police Service (CPPS)) is a private railroad police force enforcing safety and policing along Canadian Pacific Kansas City properties and rail lines in Canada and the United States, including limited sections of the Milton line of GO Transit in the Greater Toronto Area wich is being secured by its Transit Safety Officers.
The Deutsche Reichsbahn or DR(German Reich Railways) was the operating name of state owned railways in the German Democratic Republic, and after German reunification until 1 January 1994.
Law enforcement in Germany is constitutionally vested solely with the states, which is one of the main features of the German political system.
The Amtrak Police Department (APD) is a quasi-federal railroad police department and the law enforcement agency of Amtrak, the government-owned passenger train system in the United States. It is headquartered at Union Station in Washington, D.C., and as of 2023 has a force of 431 sworn police officers, most of whom are stationed within the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak's busiest route.
The Korps landelijke politiediensten was the national police force in the Netherlands from 1993 until 2013, responsible for specialist missions that benefited from a centralized approach.
Transit Officers were the security and fare compliance function for RailCorp train services in New South Wales, Australia. Transit Officers conducted uniformed and plainclothes patrols on CityRail and CountryLink train services and assigned to ensure the security of passengers, staff and rail property. The position was created in 2002 after a report found that rail security required more authority than possessed by the Chubb Security security guards contracted by RailCorp. Previous figures showed that over 600 Transit Officers had been engaged, however the number was reduced to 150.
Law enforcement in Switzerland is mainly a responsibility of the 26 cantons of Switzerland, who each operate cantonal police agencies. Some cities also operate municipal police agencies as provided for by cantonal law.
Berlin is a city-state and the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany.