The police have detained 40-year-old Bartosz P., a resident of Katowice, who on Tuesday damaged the CCTV system at the Katowice-Muchowiec railway station. During the investigation, it was established that he had earlier detached a railcar from a train, leaving it on the railway line. The man is suspected of stealing elements of railway infrastructure and endangering railway traffic. By court decision, he will spend the next three months in pre-trial detention.
Officers from the Property Crime Division of the Municipal Police Headquarters in Katowice, supported by detectives from the Regional Police Headquarters in Katowice and supervised by the District Prosecutor’s Office Katowice-West (PR Katowice-Zachód), had been conducting activities related to the offence of causing a direct danger to railway traffic and a burglary at an observation tower on Hetmańska Street, where devices powering the CCTV system were located, and from which components had been stolen – since September this year. A person suspected of committing these crimes was identified.
On Tuesday, 18 November, two reports of burglaries targeting power supply boxes for railway CCTV cameras were filed with the Katowice police headquarters: one on 73 Pułku Piechoty Street and another on Rolna Street. In both cases, the method was similar: after damaging the security mechanisms, the perpetrator stole batteries and power units.
“We found that a power unit and battery had been stolen from an equipment cabinet near the Katowice Muchowiec station on Monday at around 7:30 p.m. The device is responsible for operating one of the systems used as support to confirm the end of a train on the Katowice Muchowiec – Katowice Panewnik line. However, it does not affect the safety or operation of trains. We reported the matter to the authorities,” explains Katarzyna Głowacka from the press team of PLK S.A. (PKP PLK S.A.), which manages the railway infrastructure.
The police analysis of collected materials, operational activities, and cooperation between detectives from the Regional Police Headquarters in Katowice and the prosecutor’s office led to connecting the incidents and detaining the 40-year-old man. Bartosz P. was detained on Tuesday. As established by the police and the prosecutor, during the first incident the man stopped a freight train on the railway line by interfering with its technical systems. He then detached the last railcar of the train, leaving it on the track. Police officers carried out a number of procedural steps with the detainee and then brought him to the prosecutor’s office. The man was charged with causing a direct danger of a railway catastrophe, three counts of burglary committed under recidivism, and possession of narcotics found on him at the time of detention. The 40-year-old admitted to the charges. The court imposed a preventive measure in the form of three months of pre-trial detention.
“We have already ordered the necessary parts from the manufacturer. The repair is scheduled for next week,” adds Katarzyna Głowacka.