Paul Crowther interviewed by Frank Paterson

Oral history interview with Paul Crowther, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the interviewee's office in the British Transport Police Headquarters, London on 25 February 2020. Duration: 1 hr. 04 min. 32 sec. Joining British Transport Police (BTP) 1980; Detective Constable; Underground/London Transport Division; secondment to Metropolitan Police (Met); Inspector Waterloo 1992; Incident Commander at Hatfield accident 2000; Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate (HMRI); changes in major incident response due to privatisation; Investigating Officer for Potters Bar accident 2002; creation of Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB); Hatfield manslaughter charges failed; Sir Ian Johnston; Area Commander Underground 2004; 7/7 bombings and subsequent failed attacks; Met merger rejected; became Chief Constable 2014; Privatisation seen as a threat 1993; transfer to Strategic Rail Authority (SRA); charging model for police services; Police Committee composition; James Jerram (Chair); attribution of crimes to operator; stakeholder involvement due to privatisation; delay attribution Schedule 8 payments; suicide reduction strategies

One of over 150 oral history recordings made as part of the Britain’s Railways All Change (BRAC) archive project. BRAC was set-up to cover gaps in documenting the railway privatisation process in the United Kingdom, between 1994 and 1997, when the government-owned British Rail was dismantled into over 100 privately-owned companies. The interviews capture the recollections of people involved in the planning and implementation of the privatisation process, the management of change and running the railway during privatisation.