5 ms·

One thing that sounded weird in that sentence, who is doing the arresting? Company employees? Do railway employees have arresting authority?

nathanaldensr 5y ago
They have a police force. https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/safety/special_agents/index.htm https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/safety/special_agents/i...
- dsjfladjsfkl 5y ago
- stephen_g 5y ago
  Having many Federal Government departments having their own police forces (like "Postal Police") is weird enough to somebody from another country like me, but the idea of a private company being able to have their own police force is a whole another level - incredible and bizarre...
  - someguydave 5y ago
    The railroads in the US are pretty heavily regulated by various US government departments. It makes sense to have specialized police for the needs of the railroad.
    - justsomehnguy 5y ago
      > specialized police for the needs of the railroad It's understandable, but for the most Europeans such police force should be a part of a government or a municipal authority, not a private one.
      - FateOfNations 5y ago
        In Europe the railroad would also be part of a government entity....
      - someguydave 5y ago
        Also in Europe the distances are much shorter and have always been well-settled. US railroad police originate from a time when they were some of the only lawmen in the western US.
  - R0b0t1 5y ago
    It's from a time when the country was more sparse. A normal citizen can make arrests only with proof of a crime, in some very important situations like theft or trespass you'd like to be able to arrest on suspicion. If anything these hyper-specific forces tend to be more professional that local police forces.
  - bartvk 5y ago
    I don't think it's that weird. Our national railway in The Netherlands also has a security force. I haven't looked at the differences in authority between them and the UP police force, though.
    - Scoundreller 5y ago
      The UP police force is private. Zero accountability to the public, just shareholders. You couldn’t even file a public record request to them.
  - devilbunny 5y ago
    As others noted, this is an artifact of the time in which railroads were created. Railroads are unusual from a legal perspective because they stretch across many jurisdictions, and it is not always immediately obvious which one should apply (e.g., a train in motion across multiple city/county/state borders - by the time a local force can respond, it's in another jurisdiction). Giving them their own force, with arrest powers limited to railroad property, allows them to keep order on their own territory and figure out afterward what jurisdiction should take the offenders.
- fuzzfactor 5y ago
  They're gonna need more K-9s to join the force. Seems the law doesn't have enough teeth to cope with the problem any more.
woodruffw 5y ago
They do; Union Pacific's police force in particular is empowered to make arrests in 21 of the 23 states that UP has trackage in[1]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_Police_Department https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_Police_Departmen...
numpad0 5y ago
Authority is technically not a must for an arrest, just it’s not a casual part of the law you should mess with. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen%27s_arrest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen%27s_arrest
octoberfranklin 5y ago
In Washington State BNSF is allowed to hire retired law enforcement officers (usually ex-highway patrol) as a "Special Agent", and they are re-sworn and have arrest powers. They cannot book people into a jail without permission from the city/county operating the jail. The railroad can't just hire Apu from the Quickie-Mart and hand him a gun and badge.

nathanaldensr 5y ago

They have a police force. https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/safety/special_agents/index.htm https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/safety/special_agents/i...

dsjfladjsfkl 5y ago
stephen_g 5y ago
Having many Federal Government departments having their own police forces (like "Postal Police") is weird enough to somebody from another country like me, but the idea of a private company being able to have their own police force is a whole another level - incredible and bizarre...
- someguydave 5y ago
  The railroads in the US are pretty heavily regulated by various US government departments. It makes sense to have specialized police for the needs of the railroad.
  - justsomehnguy 5y ago
    > specialized police for the needs of the railroad It's understandable, but for the most Europeans such police force should be a part of a government or a municipal authority, not a private one.
    - FateOfNations 5y ago
      In Europe the railroad would also be part of a government entity....
    - someguydave 5y ago
      Also in Europe the distances are much shorter and have always been well-settled. US railroad police originate from a time when they were some of the only lawmen in the western US.
- R0b0t1 5y ago
  It's from a time when the country was more sparse. A normal citizen can make arrests only with proof of a crime, in some very important situations like theft or trespass you'd like to be able to arrest on suspicion. If anything these hyper-specific forces tend to be more professional that local police forces.
- bartvk 5y ago
  I don't think it's that weird. Our national railway in The Netherlands also has a security force. I haven't looked at the differences in authority between them and the UP police force, though.
  - Scoundreller 5y ago
    The UP police force is private. Zero accountability to the public, just shareholders. You couldn’t even file a public record request to them.
- devilbunny 5y ago
  As others noted, this is an artifact of the time in which railroads were created. Railroads are unusual from a legal perspective because they stretch across many jurisdictions, and it is not always immediately obvious which one should apply (e.g., a train in motion across multiple city/county/state borders - by the time a local force can respond, it's in another jurisdiction). Giving them their own force, with arrest powers limited to railroad property, allows them to keep order on their own territory and figure out afterward what jurisdiction should take the offenders.
fuzzfactor 5y ago
They're gonna need more K-9s to join the force. Seems the law doesn't have enough teeth to cope with the problem any more.

woodruffw 5y ago

They do; Union Pacific's police force in particular is empowered to make arrests in 21 of the 23 states that UP has trackage in[1]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_Police_Department https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_Police_Departmen...

numpad0 5y ago

Authority is technically not a must for an arrest, just it’s not a casual part of the law you should mess with. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen%27s_arrest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen%27s_arrest

octoberfranklin 5y ago

In Washington State BNSF is allowed to hire retired law enforcement officers (usually ex-highway patrol) as a "Special Agent", and they are re-sworn and have arrest powers. They cannot book people into a jail without permission from the city/county operating the jail. The railroad can't just hire Apu from the Quickie-Mart and hand him a gun and badge.