Western Railroad Discussion > SP Railroad Police

About an hour ago I saw an SP (yes, SP) railroad police car (Chevy Caprice, white with blue markings) screaming Eastbound on the 10 freeway here in Los Angeles with red lights and siren. Questions: Why are they still SP, not UP? And do they have the same powers as "regular" police like stopping traffic and running "Code 3" on the freeways? Just curious.

yes, they can run code on the freeways....they have police powers in CA...i once saw a UP cherokee running code from LA up to Mojave....

I recall the SP Police vehicles having the blue reflectorized lettering on the cars and jeeps, however I did see some where they simply replaced the "S" with a "U" and left it as is. I seen a Caprice once in San Francisco at the Hall of Justice, the PO was turning over a bad guy to the local PD, wish I had a camera that day as I had never seen the Caprices after that one time.

CHP is showing an incident in Keenebrook...

UP (formerly SP) Police have Federal Law Enforcement Authority. I.E. the same as US marshalls, valid in all 50 states. They are granted police powers by the US Dept. Of Transportation. They can do everything a local officer does (including speed traps, pulling over morons for cutting people off, reckless drivers, arrest people for shoplifting or any other law enforcement activity/duty). In many states, including California, they are expected under state law to perform these activites in addition to their duties for the Railroad.

To my knowledge, the only state which does not fully recognize the authority (though it doesn't matter because their authority/jurisdiction is granted by the federal government) is Minnesota. According to a UP Special Agent up there, MN will acknowledge it when it is convientnt for them to do so.

As for why the car still said SP, probably just one car that has managed to hang around a little longer.. we still have CNW marked MOW equipment here in Chciago...

Where did you find info on the "incident" in Keenbrook? Radio? Web? Curious... Thanks!!

<a href=http://cad.chp.ca.gov/>CHP</a>

Look under the filed reports for San Bernardino office.

They are still SP because they have guns, and UP agents are too chicken to tell them to repaint their cars. Sp agents will kick your ass, if you mess with them. I once saw them take a guy off a train, he left through the conductors window, not the door. Of course, so did everything the guy owned also, except for the sixer of beer, that they kept...;-)...also saw a guy sick the mutt on a guy because he wasn't walking off the property fast enough...I laughed my ass off....SP agents are the only ones who ever made me feel safe....remember, a lot of those Bo's are packing....

Conductor_Bear wrote:
>
>
> To my knowledge, the only state which does not fully recognize
> the authority (though it doesn't matter because their
> authority/jurisdiction is granted by the federal government) is
> Minnesota. According to a UP Special Agent up there, MN will
> acknowledge it when it is convientnt for them to do so.
>

Rumor has it this UP SA also believes the US Constitution has been suspended indefinitely. Is it true that he wears knee boots, and possibly speaks with a slight German accent??

Rumor has it Minnesota law officers who not give the fellow much respect.

After reading the above post it sounds like these Southern Pacific police are people who do not put up with any crap. I have never seen them. I have come accross BNSF police/special agents and they were polite. They simply said that if we did not work there too leave now.
We left.

Doug

One more thing, their car may say "SP", but they do wear UP uiforms (with the possible exception in Hinkle, OR), and they are dispatched ny the same dispatchers out of the Risk Management Comm. Center in Missouri.

One more thing.. like a whole lot happens in Minnesota anyway .... LOL ;)

i could reveal the inner workings of the CHP cad system...but someone should pay me for it....or reimburse my company, since they are paying me to fool around all day....

The California Highway Patrol puts all of their calls through a Computer Dispatch System. It shows the type of incident, gives the dispatch details, and other info regarding the incident until the matter is closed out by the CHP. It is not a deep secret. In fact, it is intentionally made available to the general public on the CHP web site. To find the site go to http://www.ca.gov and go to the
"state agencies" tap. Click on that and you will get a list of all of the California State Agencies. Click on the CHP. When the CHP homepage comes up, click on "incidents" and then click on whatever CHP Office or territory that interests you.

Sorry Karladotcom. You won't make a dime on this one.

Yes, Railroad Police have full police officer powers in California, on and off of railroad property.

this wasnt a CHP dispatched call....it was SBSO....tsk tsk tsk

uprreng wrote:
>
...SP agents are the only ones
> who ever made me feel safe....

Me too, during my trespassing years...one particularly obnoxious officer was going to write us up--but he didn't have a pen on him!

SP cops -mentally defective thugs with badges

As I've said before, police officers are generally like most folks with one important difference; it is their job to secure and maintain control of a situation. Some people, particularly those who feel rules are for others (I was that way once), will interpret this as "attitude." Railroad police do not have the exposure to the public as do officers working for public agencies and thus may not have the "PR" skills that the current political climate has thrust upon public officers. Also, the public seems to think that any situation can be resolved with kind words. Not so. Consider the kind of people most officers deal with most of the time and you will come away for a greater admiration of their people skills. Of course there are the few "bad apples" as there are in any line of work. Ask any railroad employee if he or she has met a polite and kind Asst. Trainmaster, or Asst. Terminal Superintendent. As a former railroad employee I saw some of my closest friends move into management and become among the most hated people on the road.
Police officers of every stripe are well-aware of current use-of-force policies (thank you Rodney King) and the effect that violation of such policies can have upon their employment. No agency, public or private, wants to be exposed to civil liability. In the public sector there is also political liability which ties the hands of officers even more. In effect this has made police "kinder and gentler" but less effective. Of course as in any line of work there will be a few knuckleheads who still think force is the only way to resolve a situation. At least in the public sector those folks, fortunately, have gone on to other lines of work willingly or unwillingly. The change may be coming slower amongst the only private sworn police force in the country, i.e., the railroad police. Discussion of private security guards is a topic for another time and place but suffice it to say the use of private security has had a significant negative impact upon the sworn officers on the railroads. That might explain why some of them have a bit of an attitude. The threat of unemployment can do funny things to people. I also have to say that a lot of the stories that appear here are subject to the "campfire legend" factor; that is, they get bigger and better with each telling.
Have fun, be safe
Doc Jones, the "sidewalk lawyer"
note to Kjax9 - you out there?

I think DOE plants are protected by private police forces too....the guys like Wackenhut and Pinkertons waving machine guns, guarding our nuclear warheads, Area 51...or better yet, Los Alamos Labs....

Your right in my work I am regularly involved in component testing in nuclear plants some of the guards in these places you talk about Rocket scientists WHEW