Union Pacific Police
Article by Dave Larton
Photos by Randall Larson
| Dave Larton is a dispatcher for the city of Gilroy, California. He is also the State ACS Training Officer for the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Telecommunications Branch, the webmaster for several public safety organizations, and a Tech Info Group Manager for FEMA's Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 3 based in Menlo Park, CA. He can be reached at David_Larton@oes.ca.gov |
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This article can be found on page 24 of the Nov/Dec 1998 issue of 9-1-1 Magazine. |
With approximately thirty five thousand miles of track in twenty three states, the Union Pacific Railroad is one of the largest in the world. To protect its assets, the railroad has assembled a force of two hundred forty three commissioned peace officers in four regions, where they investigate crimes against the railroad, including theft, vandalism, burglary and arson. They also have jurisdiction over UPRR buildings, right-of-way and rolling stock.
With such a large area, UPRR police officers are commissioned in the states in which the UP has right of way. Officers also carry federal commissions issued by the Department of Transportation, enabling UPRR officers to conduct intrastate law enforcement operations. Officers receive 40 hours of continuing training each year, including regular certification training firearms, hazardous materials, first aid and CPR and specialized training in accident investigation, surveillance techniques, evidence handling. The UP Police Department is certified by the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training, and officers meet the same standards as any other sworn peace officer.
As a railroad handling primarily freight, UP police officers have some differences with their passenger carrying AMTRAK counterparts. "One of the things that's unique to the UP Railroad Police is that most cargo containers, box cars and automobile shipments usually have some type of security device on them as they move from Point A to Point B," notes Captain John Allen, UP Police Department Regional Manager. "We monitor their activity through a central computer database. If we find unusual activity on the train, we then take enforcement action."
Many people equate railroad police with the traditional role of arresting trespassers riding the rails. "Trespassers are an ongoing problem," says 25-year veteran officer Gregory R. Ferguson. "For some of them, it's a chosen lifestyle. We recently caught a group of hobos who'd come from New York and were waiting in the Oakland yard for a train bound for Portland, where they had a job. Some of them have been riding freight trains for 15 years. They find winter jobs, and as a mode of transport they use the rails to go from place to place. There is a great deal of concern for the personal safety of those doing this illegal act. If we find them, if they have no identification, we'll take them into custody. They're charged with trespassing, using the appropriate statute in each state."
The UPRR Police respond to reports of hazardous materials accidents along its right-of-way, as well as railroad crossing and personal injury accidents. Drug interaction and gang activity also require a high enforcement presence. There seems to be some portions of gang activity throughout the railroad yards, notes Allen. In Los Angeles, for example, some gangs consider staking out and controlling a territory, then stealing merchandise to later fence off. Suspects target railroad yards because they believe that trains will be an easier target. They're finding out that's not the case.
UP officers also work with local, state and federal agencies in drug interdiction efforts. The department has recently acquired a number of police K9's that work hand in hand to suppress drug trafficking along border areas in conjunction with the US Border Patrol, US Customs, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Senior Special Agent and K9 handler Andrea M. Young works California's Central Valley corridor with her 3 year old German Shepherd, Storm. "We have a total of 38 K9's on the UP," notes Young, more than the San Diego Police Department. Young and Storm are frequently used for mutual aid operations anywhere in the Southwest. Dogs are both track as well as scent trained, and spend much of their time performing train searches for transients and potential burglary suspects. Mutual Aid between departments is an important ingredient along the UP route. "We get great response from local agencies," says Young. "They're always available when we need them, and we're always happy to lend a hand if they need us."
UP Police officers, working with UP Hazardous Materials Specialists, assist local agencies during railway spills and accidents, providing critical liaison between the railroad, shipping company and local police and fire departments. UP Police officers are Level 1 and Level 2 hazardous materials first responders throughout the UP system. Some UP officers are certified at level 3 to assist the UP Chemical Transportation Specialists. Because of their expertise, the Department of Energy recently mobilized them in the transportation of spent nuclear fuel rods from the Concord Naval Weapons Station in California to a final depository in Idaho. Constant surveillance of the track, roadway, as well as nuclear protesters along the route, made for a successful delivery of the special hazardous materials train.
Cargo theft, including the theft of entire truckloads of merchandise moving by rail, is also a high concern for the railroad. "We work hand in hand with the CTIP (Cargo Theft Interdiction Program) organization," says Allen, "which is made up of local shipping companies and law enforcement, the UPRR, FBI and the California Highway Patrol. Special Operation Response Teams (SORT), kind of like a SWAT team that targets specific areas or crimes against the railroad, set up on trains to apprehend burglars in the act. The program has been very successful. Because burglars are not anticipating officers being there, it's rare not to have an arrest made during a SORT operation."
Intermodel trains, carrying large sea-going containers, are a prime target for criminals. "Containers can carry anything from laptop computers to sports cars," notes UP Officer E.J. Jesus. "Once the container is delivered to the railroad, it becomes the railroad's responsibility until interchanged at destination."
Based in Benicia, Officer Jesus has a lot of jurisdiction to patrol from San Jose to Davis. Daily patrol activities include checking on train times to determine which intermodel trains may be in the area, patrolling UP right-of-ways to identify areas where homeless people have camped out, and conducting frequent inspections of trains and UP facilities. Patrol officers take an average of 10-12 incident numbers each day, and investigate one to two train/auto collision per month.
With such a large jurisdiction, communications on the UP are critical. Officers are dispatched by the UPRR's Risk Management Communications Center in St. Louis, Missouri, through a system of mobile/handheld Motorola radios, pagers and cellular telephones. "Even though we cover large distances, we're in almost instantaneous communication with any situation that develops," says Allen. Dispatchers receive calls from around the country from local emergency service agencies, ranging from a hazardous materials spill to inoperable crossing arms. Using marked Ford Explorers and police sedans, UP officers can communicate with most local law enforcement agencies along their right of way.
UP officers also communicate with train dispatchers at the UP Harriman Dispatching Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Dispatchers are responsible for over 700 UP trains daily, using one of the most sophisticated railroad command centers in the world. From inside the 18-inch thick walls of The Bunker, UP dispatchers monitor train movements on 172 video screens, forming two huge electronic panoramas stretching the length of a football field. The schematic maps show the location of trains, status of UP track and signals, and even local weather conditions. Through communications with train dispatchers in Omaha and their own police dispatch center in St. Louis, UP officers stay in constant contact with all trains and personnel anywhere on the UP system.
Through its Grade Crossing Collision Investigations Course, the UPRR police conduct regular training of local law enforcement officers in the investigation of grade crossing accidents. A special unit, the Crossing Accident Reduction Enforcement (CARE) team, also works with local jurisdictions to target unsafe motorists who cause accidents at grade crossings, and to conduct a public education campaign to bring awareness of grade crossing safety to the public through local media. Using its database, UP officers identify potential safety hazards at grade crossings along its right-of-way, then make that information available to local agencies for public education as well as enforcement action.
Public education is paramount to the UP. "Some people think that trains are just like cars that can stop on a dime," notes Captain Allen. "These trains travel a little faster than they did in the old days, they're a little bigger, and they have a lot more commodities. In addition to keeping unauthorized people from riding the trains hobo-style, the Union Pacific is concerned with drivers who attempt to beat the train by driving around lowered crossing arms in an attempt to save a few minutes of driving time." Classes stress that freight trains may be a mile or more in length, and may take almost a mile and a half to stop. Whenever the train crew has to engage an emergency application of the brake, they put the train at risk for a possible derailment, which could involve hazardous materials, and that could really turn into a major event.
Local agency communications centers play an important part in Union Pacific's overall safety plan. Dispatchers are encouraged to contact the Risk Management Communications Center at the first sign of a potential problem along UPRR right-of-way. Occasionally, fire personnel may drag charged hose lines over the tracks to put out a grass fire, or a subject driving under the influence may accidentally drive onto the railroad tracks. Even something as small as a shopping cart on the tracks can break air and hydraulic lines when struck by an engine, disabling the train. It's critical that train dispatchers be notified immediately of the situation so they can stop the train if necessary. "Stopping a train may require as much as a two mile window," says Captain Allen. "We like the local police dispatcher to communicate with our train dispatchers at the first sign of trouble."
Because of their sometimes extended response times, Officer Ferguson urges dispatchers to get all the necessary information prior to their arrival. "Information received is not always the exact location of the incident. Where the caller thought the crime occurred could be a quarter mile from where the train is now. You can never get too much information from a reporting party," he says. "Asking pertinent questions and getting witness information really makes our job much easier. A follow-up call to the train dispatcher with a notification that the tracks are clear is also appreciated."
Captain Allen feels that the railroad police play a critical emergency services role. "In the public safety community, we offer a specialized service and an expertise," he says. "Basically, that's a knowledge of how trains move and what they involve. We deal with it on a daily basis, and we bring that expertise to any event that can affect the community. I think it's a service that becomes critical when it interfaces with the railroad and the community."
For further information, contact the UPRR's Risk Management Communications Center at 1-800-892-1283 or 1-888-UPRRCOP.
