Mersey Tunnels Police
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mersey Tunnels Police is a small, specialised, private constabulary responsible for policing the Mersey Tunnels, Merseyside, England (between Liverpool and the Wirral). The constabulary is responsible to the Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority, and thus is a separate organisation from Merseyside Police, the local Home Office police force.
The constables were originally appointed under Section 105 of the Liverpool Corporation Act 1936. However, changes in local government meant that responsibilities for the constabulary were moved. Constables are now attested under Section 105 of the County of Merseyside Act 1980 as amended by the Local Government Act 1985 (Section 105 (i)):
- The Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority may appoint any of their officers or servants to act as a Law Enforcement Officer for the policing of the Tunnels, approach roads and any marshalling area.
- Every officer or servant so appointed as a Law Enforcement Officer under this section, shall on appointment, be attested as a Constable by making a declaration before a Justice of the Peace, that he will duly execute the office of Constable.
- Every officer or servant so appointed as a Law Enforcement Officer.
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- (a) shall not act as such unless he is in uniform or provided with a warrant card for production if required, and
- (b) when so acting shall have the power and privileges and be liable to the duties and responsibilities of a Constable.
Whilst the constables of the constabulary have police powers within their jurisdiction, the statutory responsibility for policing the tunnels falls to Merseyside Police. Any serious incidents would be passed to Merseyside Police to investigate.
[edit] Recent events
In 2003, the jury hearing an inquest for the Merseyside coroner ruled that two teenagers who died when the stolen car they were travelling in crashed into a road block set up by the Mersey Tunnels Police had been unlawfully killed.
The coroner recommended either the policing of the tunnel should be transferred to Merseyside Police, or tunnel officers (currently appointed by the Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority) should be trained to national policing standards [1].
The Mersey Tunnels Police began legal proceedings to seek to remove that recommendation, but the court threw out their claim as unarguable.
