Amtrak Detective Mumford Wins National Safety Honor

Release #08-10—April 30, 2008

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Washington D.C., April 30, 2008—The family of Dr. Gary Burch and the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) announced today that Detective John “Jake” Mumford, a resident of California’s Bay Area, has won the 2008 Dr. Gary Burch Memorial Safety Award.

The award, which honors individuals who have significantly enhanced rail passenger safety, is sponsored by the family of Dr. Burch, who died in a 1991 passenger train derailment in South Carolina. “Because security and safety go hand-in-hand, it is a particular honor for us to be able to spotlight the efforts of Detective Mumford this year,” said Bette Burch.

An employee of Amtrak detailed to provide security services for California’s Capitol Corridor, Mumford was selected for his outstanding commitment to policing one of the heaviest-traveled passenger corridors in the country.  The Capitol Corridor connects San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and the Sacramento area.

“Detective Mumford carries out his duties with a smile, with authority and with a helping hand,” said Eugene Skoropowski, managing director of the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, which operates the Capitol Corridors.

Mumford has been praised in passenger surveys for his customer-friendly outreach. He has also received accolades from police departments for his ability to foster cooperation and coordination among various public safety departments, including local law enforcement agencies, Union Pacific Railroad Police, Amtrak Police, and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police.

Skoropowski singled out Mumford’s recent work assisting in the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of local gang members who had terrorized communities along the track and attacked a Capitol Corridor train crew last year.

The Burch family established the $1,000 award in 1994 and has sponsored it ever since. This year, the family noted other noteworthy nominees in addition to that for Detective Mumford:

• The BNSF Railway Seattle Commuter Operations team, which developed an innovative and aggressive safety plan;
• Amtrak Mechanical Superintendent Bernard Campbell, who established new procedures and protocols to ensure rail car and station safety in Washington D.C.;
• Amtrak’s Southwest Division Cross-Functional Safety Team, for initiating which initiated an in-depth safety study resulting in recommendations that sharply reduced passenger risks on the Pacific Surfliner, and
• Daniel Corcoran, who as manager of Signal Projects in Chicago for the Union Pacific Railroad developed a safety device for disabling and reestablishing railroad crossing protections affected by track work.

More information on the award, and past winners, can be found here.