Assault poster

"Assault our staff and this will be your next destination

At London Midland, we take any physical or verbal assault on our staff seriously.  Together with the British Transport Police, we work hard to make sure that all offenders are prosecuted and receive the maximum punishment possible"

The London Midland's poster about assaults on staff isn't new (I think it first appeared a couple of years ago), but a copy has just appeared at Bletchley on the overbridge stairs.  To be clear, I am not for one minute suggesting that assaults on railway staff aren't serious and I feel very sorryfor the victims, but I still find this poster disturbing. 

This is a personal opinion, but I believe that it is one shared by many other passengers on our line - London Midland are taking an increasingly authoritarian position with their passengers as illustrated by:

Shops often display a sign that says "shoplifters will be prosecuted'.  That sign serves a purpose because it isn't stating the obvious.  The newspapers are full of stories of people who are caught shoplifting getting on a slap on the wrist and a small fine so a statement by a company that they will put the time and effort into pursuing a conviction does have impact.

Do London Midland really think that the 1,000+ people who travel through Bletchley on a daily basis are so stupid that they think that assault isn't a serious crime?  Also, why does their poster only mention assault against a member of their staff?  I have travelled on the line for 20 years and have never seen a physical attack on a railway worker.  What I have seen on a half-dozen occasions is assault by a passenger on another passenger.  Does the omission infer that they'll not support any action if that occurs? 

• The approach of the staff manning the gates for platforms 8-11 at London Euston late afternoons.  They don't seem bothered to explain to people why their 'cheap day' tickets can no longer be used to board trains between 1645-1845 (I've seen elderly people, families with young children and foreign tourists dismissed with just a "you can't travel on this ticket on that train").  
• The "Riot Act" that we now get read out to us on trains at London Euston before departure.  I don't have the exact words but the announcement on the train is usally now along the lines of "Passengers are reminded that they must have a valid ticket for the whole of their journey.  Off peak tickets are not valid on this train.  Passengers are further reminded that if they sit or stand in the First Class area on this train without a valid First Class ticket then they will be charged the full First Class fare for their journey".

There's a line on the home page of http://www.londonmidland.com/ which reads "We look forward to welcoming you on board soon".  I don't see much evidence of that positive attitude to customers in any of the above.

(Please note: I have no personal axe to grind on this.  I have never had a physical or verbal altercation with a member of the railway staff and I have never had a "travelling on a train without purchasing a valid ticket" problem)