Beatrice Smith
Police Officer, British Transport Police
Police Officer, British Transport Police
Beatrice has worked for the British Transport Police since 2012, when she spotted a recruitment poster for PCSOs (police community support officers).
After spending two years in the role she then made the switch to police officer in 2014, before passing a rigorous selection process to join the BTP’s specialist firearms unit in 2016.
As the railway’s national police force, Beatrice and her colleagues are charged with keeping the millions of passengers using the network each day safe and secure.
This has included armed patrols of stations by the BTP since 2012, when the UK’s official threat level for terrorist attacks was increased to ‘severe’.
Following the recent and horrific terror attacks at Manchester Arena and London Bridge in May and June 2017, at which BTP officers were among the first responders, Beatrice’s team remain in a state of high alert.
“This job definitely isn’t for everyone, but I wouldn’t want to be
“Some people would say I’m brave, but I don’t feel brave. I just like helping people”
doing anything else,” she says. “My previous jobs included prison officer, security guard and dog groomer, however, so you could say that I’m not a fan of office jobs. “I’ve always put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed, so I liked the fact that the training was so hard.” Being put to the test is just the beginning. Officers have to carry equipment weighing four stones, regardless of what gender they are. Beatrice says the best part of her job is the constant training which, although physically demanding, perfectly complements her lifelong passion for keeping fit and active. As a former footballer for both Fulham and Chelsea’s under-19 ladies’ teams, she can often be found in the gym on her days off, and counts completing the Brighton marathon in a time of four hours and 34 minutes among her greatest personal achievements. She adds: “I like being pushed to the limits, and who else can say that they are getting paid to run around in training firing live ammunition at targets and taking part in simulated terrorist incidents? Some people would say I’m brave doing what I do, but I don’t feel brave. I just like helping people, whether that means helping them across the road or being prepared to act in a live terrorist incident.” Based in London, Beatrice says she does not always enjoy the amount of travel required for her job. Another frustration for her is the lack of compatibility between her work pattern and that of her partner, who works as a professional magician. He is often out in the evening performing his act at clubs and pubs, whereas she must rotate between being on either early or late shifts that last from eight to ten hours. She can also be rostered to work nights and to do mandatory overtime, but that is entirely dependent on the BTP’s operational needs and the status of the UK’s terror threat level. Beatrice takes all this in her stride, however, and accepts it graciously as an occupational hazard of doing a job she loves. “As you can imagine, armed police can be called in at short notice to respond to incidents just about anywhere. We can be asked to travel to places as far away as Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and everywhere in between, which is good and bad as I get to see a lot of the country. “This is the most sporadic shift pattern that I’ve ever worked and it sometimes feels like my partner and I are like ships passing in the night. But nothing will ever stop me from being a police officer and it makes the time we have together even more special. We’ll be getting married in October. “I enjoy the working environment and the opportunity the BTP offers for fast progression, as I was able to move into firearms after only two years as a police officer. Because we are trained to a national standard, there is also the potential to transfer to any other part of the police force all over the country. “I want to do this forever, and progress in the field of firearms. I’ll stay here for as long as they’ll have me.” ■