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In response to Kabaka, in all fairness when someone is being aggresive or violent towards others, in todays climate of knives and other weapons, everyone around them or the incident suddenly becomes blind and deaf. Police Officers have sworn to uphold the law, on or off duty, often detrimental to their own personal safety. They will step in or at the very least ensure the situation is thouroughly witnessed and take action as soon a they can safely. This would happen regardless of the concession, which is compensated for by the Met, the tax implication paid for and a benefit of the job, just as other lines of work offer benefits. This is once again another opportunity for people to have a go at police who are the same people crying for help when they are attacked by a bunch of thugs when they are trying to get home after an evening out.

- Craig, London, UK, 03/12/2008 12:04
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I joined the Metropolitan Police in 1970 and I can assure you that I had to pay my fare just like anyone else for more than half of my 31 years of service. The free fares were originally instituted on London transport tubes and buses at the insistence of their trade union who were sick to death of their employees being assaulted and in the hope that it would encourage more police officers to use public transport.

- Bill, London, 03/10/2008 01:19
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Police officers are not employees, we are Crown Servants. As such we are duty bound to intervene whether travelling on a fare concession or not. We are not allowed (by law!) to carry our safety equipment (batons, hancuffs, spray etc.) whilst off duty. We do step in when necessary, even though we know we are not often liked or respected by much of today's society. We do this even though we have no equipment to help us! If this concession is taken away I personally will not pay for the privilege of tackling violent criminals on the transport network any longer. I will simply move to a force/service local to where I live. In the currect financial climate expecting officers to take a vast sudden pay cut (in most cases, thousands of pounds - the cost of a fare) is unrealistic to say the least! Could anyone reading this cope with a sudden pay cut like this? Be honest! My team is below strength as it is and we cannot recruit! Everyone reading this think back to when you have been drunk on a late train home from the city on a Friday night. How do you know one of us wasn't watching your back. Think to what it will be like if we are not there at all. If this goes ahead I predict a mass exodus from the Met Police which will leave London largely unpoliced and one of the most violent cities in the world. Good job the Olympics aren't just around the corner! Doh!

- Name Supplied, Serving Police Officer, Inner London, 02/10/2008 20:11
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In response to Jon from Essex. I am a Nurse and have twice intervened to aid commuters having heart attacks on the train and at the station. I am sure doctors and even members of the public offer assistance under different circumstances while they are 'off duty' they don't get free travel for that. As for the 'putting my life in danger' which seems to be the line that most police officers use as a justification for this perk. Come on let’s be realistic! It is a tough job I concede, just like being a Doorman at a nightclub or working in the reception at an A & E. On most days the only 'Danger’ a police officer faces on his commute home is the 'Danger' of missing his/her stop after a long 12 hour shift. Police officers earn a lot more than the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan who face more danger and probably don’t get free travel. It a difficult job I agree but so is Teaching, Nursing, Street Cleaning, Child Psychology, being a Traffic Warder and a host of others. They don’t get free travel to work what makes the Police so different to them. Jon states ‘It is without doubt, a very special person to put others ahead of their own lot’ I totally I agree with Jon. We have a history of doing this in the UK and that makes all of us ‘special’!!!!

- Kabaka Smith, London Uk, 01/10/2008 12:32
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If the free travel stops then I won't have to identify myself as a police officer whilst travelling.Why should I or my collegues put themselves out for the public that constantly winge about the police. They want us to be treated the same as everyone else ...... so be it.

- Lew, Windsor, 01/10/2008 09:03
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Kabaka Smiths' comments are indicative of someone clearly not in touch with reality or thinking coherently. The reason he or she doesn't get this concession is because he or she, I suspect, would not put their life on the line and intervene when required on a train or platform to prevent crime as I have done on several occassions without any officer safety equipment and always putting the public first. That's why they are not Police Officers. It is without doubt, a very special person to put others ahead of their own lot. The current and previous Home Secretarys have chipped away at police allowances for far too long now and if this goes, I guarantee many officers will re-think where they can afford to work. More than ever, London is getting the Police Force they deserve.

- Jon, Serving Police Officer., Essex, 30/09/2008 22:31
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I am so very glad that I left the Met and moved on if this is how current officers are treated. The jealousy, contempt and even dislike of the police in the UK makes me wonder what you will do when their numbers dwindle again to 1970's levels. If you think things are bad now, just wait! For just over 2 pounds per officer per day, it seems like a cheap price to pay for the added security it provides. Just another pathetic example of how the the Great has been whittled away from Britain!

- Kevin Foster Md, Edmonton, AB, Canada, 30/09/2008 19:45
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As a serving officer and a communter into London to do my job in the capital, it amazes me that this discussion is clouded by the usual allegations that this police 'perk' is unjustified and yet another example of greed on the part of serving officers. Many of my colleagues live a long distance from their places of duty, not through choice, but because housing in London is beyond their budgets. Contrary to popular belief and in comparison to the job we do and the restrictions placed on our private lives, we are not well paid. Removing the travel concession will send serving officers out of the metropolis in droves and return London to its previous state of having a depleted, talent drained, and demoralised police service. The sort that this sort of parsimony deserves. Open your eyes and grow up!

- Phil, Colchester, 30/09/2008 19:25
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Police officer intervene while of duty in resturants,hotels and other places. They should be able to claim 4 any work done while off duty. Giving them free travel isnt fair to all those on minimum wage who have pay to get to work and earn considerably less than 30k. It should be scraped.

- Kabaka Smith, London, 30/09/2008 15:50
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As a serving officer i find Minnie OVENS comments unfounded and incorrect. Whilst im not a met officer i work in a surrounding area and with my hand on my heart can honestly say i do not know of any officer who would not "intervene" if required, whether on or off duty. There are too many people who are all to ready to slate the police personnel and attempt to deny them any benefits, But if it weren't for them this country would be far worse than it already is. Im not blind to the fact that we're not perfect but making our job more difficult is not the way to move forward.

- Al Kelly, Essex, UK, 29/09/2008 21:50
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Firstly i'm slightly bemused by an American commenting on this story.

But mainly I wanted to say this, crack on. Remove the concession. I'll transfer out of London (As will the rest of my shift) and save money, time and health by working down the road where I'm respected.

I'm often called on by ticket inspectors to help them with disruptive passengers and fare evaders which I do quite happily, however the train companies can forget that if i'm having to pay for travel.

(Remember, this is the only 'perk' we have left)

- Matt, London, UK, 29/09/2008 20:35
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The rail concession was brought in because the Met couldn’t recruit enough officers. As soon as it started massive numbers of county officers transferred into the Met, saving a fortune on training and bringing with them years of experience.

I wonder what London will do when these officers transfer back to their original forces once it is no longer financially viable for them to travel into London? Try to recruit officers to replace them, oh wait they won’t be able to. With the government reneging on pay arbitration and the removal of free travel they won’t get anyone to apply. Still, I’m sure they’ll have it sorted in time for the Olympics or will they have to spend an absolute fortune in overtime bringing the very same officers from the counties back?

- Gary, London, 29/09/2008 19:55
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Trouble with this scheme is that Sussex, Kent and other forces not in the scheme abuse it so when rail staff ask for assistance and its not a met officer on the train no assistance is offered so the met are subsidizing all the other forces in the uk.

- Tony, Hastings UK, 29/09/2008 19:20
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They get nearly 30K salary anyway, why should they get this perk?

The specials also get it.

- P I Staker, london, 29/09/2008 18:46
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£24M is not a large sum of money compaired to many other "perks" received by higher-paid workers. I would rather have more police on the trains, even as commuters, as it makes them safer. It is money well spent.....don't try and change something that works, which can be applied to many policies.

- Rod, Epping UK, 29/09/2008 14:09
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We're constantly lobbying for more officers, yet there are plans to scrap the one initiative that gives us a wider catchment area for potential applicants. At least with this initiative, it is possible for the MPS to recruit from wider afield - such as Crawley, Guildford, etc. Where do people think the officers are coming from? They can't live in central London on the salaries on offer.

It's all very well to say "well, nobody else gets their transport paid for" - but we're short of police officers, so we need to do what we can to retain them. £24,000,000 seems like a fair price.

- Mark Lee, Vauxhall, 29/09/2008 13:08
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So Mr Adams uses "intervening" off duty as a rationale for getting free travel.
It might be better if they "intervened" when on duty.
The Met is broken anyway and somebody needs to fix it. It is a disgrace.

- Minnie Ovens, USA, 29/09/2008 12:27
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My heart bleeds for the poor Policemen and their travel perk, why should they be given free travel when the rest of us have to pay extortionate fares to get to and from work. Oh and blackmail saying you could transfer away? well go and do it.

- Elliott Gordon, Watford, 29/09/2008 12:12
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Not only are Police Officers not getting a fair pay rise this year but now it seems that London Officers are now to lose the travel concession. I am an offcier in an inner London Borough who relys on it to get to work.

If the MPA want to have a self-engineered, full blown recruitment crisis then go ahead and remove the concession because I and many others are in the happy position of being able to transfer out of the Met and into my local county force.

So go ahead MPA but watch the officer numbers drop like a stone. Another point is that it is not a perk. We are effectively on duty when we use the concession. I and many of my colleagues intervene when travelling to and from work or even when use it off duty. Don't expect us to do that so readily if we start paying.

- Alastair Adams, Worcester Park, Surrey, 29/09/2008 10:22
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