The Travelsafe Unit (TSU) has launched a clampdown on antisocial behaviour across Greater Manchester’s trams and buses.
Over the next two months, the unit will be running a focused campaign and increasing their patrols across the networks.
The clampdown has been planned to coincide with the school summer holidays, a time when youth-related antisocial behaviour in particular tends to increase.
The unit are also focusing on preventative measures and youth education. Uniformed officers have been visiting schools across the region to educate youngsters on the dangers, impacts and consequences of crime, antisocial behaviour and fare evasion on public transport.
In addition, the unit has taken part in recent Crucial Crew events in Oldham and Wythenshawe, which had a combined audience of over 3000 children. Crucial Crew events focus on delivering vital safety and security information to children aged between eight and 11.
TfGM Customer Operations Director, Stephen Rhodes, said: “It is really important to carry out work like this to enable us to ensure that every member of our community feels safe to travel via our public transport network without feeling intimidated or unduly concerned by the behaviour of others.
“The ability to share intelligence and use it to plan targeted strategies is one of the major advantages of having such a cohesive and dedicated unit and this is especially beneficial during periods such as the school summer holidays, when we tend to see more incidents.
“Public transport is a safe way to travel and the purpose of the unit is to help reinforce and maintain that through targeted operations such as this.”
Sergeant Cecelia Oakley from the TSU said: “Everybody has the right to travel from ‘A’ to ‘B’ without fear or intimidation and we will be working throughout the summer holidays to keep people safe and deter offences.
“Antisocial behaviour is unacceptable in any form and we ask people to think about the consequences of their actions and the effect it could have on others.
“If you witness antisocial behaviour please alert a member of staff or call 101 to report it. In an emergency, dial 999.”
Launched on April 1 2015, the TSU comprises a team of police constables, police community support officers, special constables and security personnel.
Led by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Greater Manchester Police (GMP), the scheme allows partners – including Metrolink RATP Dev Ltd (MRDL), First Bus and Stagecoach – to share intelligence as well as crime and antisocial behaviour data.
For more information on Metrolink services visit www.metrolink.co.uk, call Metrolink Customer Services on 0161 205 2000 or follow @MCRMetrolink for live travel updates.
