Vandals graffiti Thornford station near Sherborne in Dorset

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Western Gazette:

Vandals graffiti Thornford station near Sherborne in Dorset


Graffiti at Thornford rail station

Vandals who sprayed graffiti at a railway station near Sherborne should be ^ashamed^ says a local councillor.

Graffiti was sprayed on walls and signs at the platform of Thornford railway station overnight on Monday, March 24.

Dorset county councillor for Sherborne Rural, which includes the village of Thornford, Michael Bevan said: ^It^s always deeply regretted if any one besmirches anything in the village, particularly when it is the first thing that anyone visiting is going to see. It is not right. Luckily this does not happen very often and I hope that whoever did this will be ashamed, no matter what age they may be. The trouble is it makes one wonder if its going to happen again. It is causes a sense of insecurity for the community as we can only hope that they know that what they have done is wrong and will not commit more offences.^

Many locals seemed largely unaware of the graffiti, which was quickly removed by the volunteers who run the station.

Sandy Wilkinson, who runs Ellwoods Stores, Thornford^s community shop, said: ^I did not even know about the graffiti at the station. None of my colleagues or my customers have mentioned it either.^

A spokesman for First Great Western, the rail company responsible for Thornford railway station, said: ^First Great Western does not condone any anti-social behaviour and we work hand in hand with transport police to improve safety across all of our networks. We work with the police and communities in partnership in many things and would like to thank them for their time.^

Dorset Police said they are not currently investigating the incident.

[Cynthia]

From the Western Gazette:

Vandals graffiti Thornford station near Sherborne in Dorset


Graffiti at Thornford rail station


A spokesman for First Great Western, the rail company responsible for Thornford railway station, said: ^First Great Western does not condone any anti-social behaviour and we work hand in hand with transport police to improve safety across all of our networks. We work with the police and communities in partnership in many things and would like to thank them for their time.^

Dorset Police said they are not currently investigating the incident.

Well, that's a bit of a contradiction; FGW^▸ (First Great Western) saying they 'work with the police.....'  but obviously not on this occasion, as Dorset police aren't investigating the incident. 

[JayMac]

Perhaps Dorset Police aren't investigating because the British Transport Police are. Stations (even small rural halts) are part of the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)'s jurisdiction.

[Cynthia]

One might expect the local police to have greater success in a small rural area than would the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)?  Is it still true, I wonder, that the local bobby has a good idea who the bad boys are on his patch?  Just guesswork, as I have no idea how the BTP operate.

[Chris from Nailsea]

As reported above, this incident was something of a 'one-off'.

I personally wonder whether Dorset Police have any police officer 'local' to this location who could offer any suggestions as to the possible identity of the culprit(s).  The old days of the 'village Bobby' who knows all the local miscreants personally are long gone, I regret to say.

British Transport Police do have an impressive national database of graffiti 'artists' and their distinctive markings on railway property, so there's probably more hope of an arrest there, to be honest. 

[Cynthia]

Ok, CfN, I sit corrected!

[Red Squirrel]

Shame to publish a photo of the tag; strikes me as self-defeating.

[Chris from Nailsea]

On the other hand, someone might recognise it, and pass that useful information on to the police? 

[grahame]

Perhaps Dorset Police aren't investigating because the British Transport Police are. Stations (even small rural halts) are part of the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)'s jurisdiction.

Where's the boundary line between BTP and local police?  Is it the edge of Network Rail property?   Who polices the car parks / bus areas on the TransWilts, taking Chippenham and Melksham as examples?   Do the BTP cover buses too as they're the BTP not the BRP?     Sorry about the questions (but it's what the forum's for!) ... just want to know who's limited where / how far off they can go, and how far on our dear Wiltshire Constabulary can go.

[Chris from Nailsea]

I won't quote it in full, but the general powers and status of British Transport Police officers are set out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Transport_Police#Powers_and_status_of_officers 

See also:

Route crime

Route Crime collectively describes crimes and offences of trespass and vandalism which occur on railway lines and can affect the running of train services. It is a minor but significant cause of death on British railways. The overwhelming majority ^ 95% in 2005 ^ of deaths are suicides with the rest being attributed to trespass.

Graffiti costs rail firms over ^5m a year in direct costs alone.  The BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) maintains a graffiti database which holds over 1900 graffiti tags, each unique to an individual. In 2005 BTP sent 569 suspects to court (an increase of 16% on 2004 figures). Surveys show that fear of crime is exacerbated by graffiti.