Greater Manchester’s TravelSafe Partnership launched a special operation across the region last week as part of ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of the travelling public and to continue to target crime and antisocial behaviour on the public transport network.
Police and TravelSafe officers were deployed in Manchester city centre, Bury and Bolton on Friday 16th December.
Utilising a range of specialist resources including knife arches, drones, and dog units, Greater Manchester Police’s Transport Unit, supplemented with Specialist Operations resources including the Tactical Aid Unit and district teams, patrolled Manchester’s Victoria and Piccadilly stations, as well as the Metrolink stops at Piccadilly Gardens and Cornbook.
Although the focus of this operation was on Manchester city centre, officers were also deployed to Bolton and Bury interchanges and surrounding town centres with support from other TravelSafe partners such as British Transport Police, Northern, Foundation 92 and local authorities.
In total, the TravelSafe Partnership engaged with over 12,000 members of the public during the operation, with Metrolink staff issuing 600 fines to passengers who failed to produce a valid ticket.
GMP stopped and searched 18 people with officers making seven arrests for a range of offences including possession of drugs and weapons, aggressive begging and being drunk and disorderly. A high-risk missing person was also located and returned to safety during the operation.
Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “Ensuring the safety of everyone who uses and works on the public transport network will always remain a key priority for me and the TravelSafe Partnership as we continue to deliver the vision for an integrated Bee Network.
“The people of the TravelSafe Partnership work incredibly hard to keep the public and colleagues safe and to look after vulnerable people on the network. I want to thank all operational staff at TfGM and our industry partners and the officers who spend over 5,000 hours a week patrolling public transport and active travel networks. This is central to tackling crime and antisocial behaviour, and reassuring passengers that everyone has the right to travel safely in Greater Manchester.”
Superintendent Gareth Parkin, of GMP’s Safer Transport Unit, added: “The TravelSafe Partnership carried out a full day of action on the busy Metrolink network in the lead up to Christmas.
“The purpose of the operation was to flood certain areas with resources and officers, targeting crimes and concerns that members of the public have told us cause them the most concern.
“Officers were placed at key locations to welcome people into the city, increase confidence and encourage passengers to use the public transport network in a safe way.
“It was also a show of force to deter offenders who were intent on committing crime across the network. This behaviour will not be tolerated and will not go unpunished.”
Last week’s operation was the second ‘Operation AVRO’ to be delivered by the TravelSafe Partnership alongside GMP and other partner agencies, following the two-day deployment on 27th and 28th September.
During September’s operation, more than 700 police and TravelSafe officers deployed to every transport hub in Greater Manchester to great effect.
A total of 41 arrests were made and around 1,500 fines for Metrolink fare evasion were issued over the two days, with a further 406 traffic offences and 530 speed offences were also recorded.
Operation AVRO deploys a surge of resources to tackle the crimes which matter most to our communities, including crime and antisocial behaviour on public transport.
To deter crime and anti-social behaviour and help to increase passenger’s feelings of safety, the TravelSafe Partnership have led 52 Specialist Operations across the Greater Manchester public transport network in 2022.
This is alongside 58 ad-hoc joint operations, 13 of which were part of Operation Lioness which looks specifically to address predatory behaviour and violence against women and girls. Locations have been determined based on data and intelligence and tactics deployed have varied depending on the challenge to be addressed.
Over the year the Partnership have engaged with over 102,000 customers, issuing over 5700 fines have been issued to non-fare paying travellers.
Alex Cropper, Interim Chief Operating Officer at TfGM, said: “The TravelSafe Partnership works tirelessly to ensure the safety of everyone who uses and works on the public transport network.
“Last week’s operation was made possible thanks to extensive resource and intelligence sharing between partners, as well as hard work by officers on the ground.
“We will continue to deploy TravelSafe teams across the transport network in a targeted and strategic manner as part of our programme of specialist operations in partnership with the GMP Transport Unit and district policing teams.”
GMP’s Transport Unit have arrested over 51 people for offences including possession of drugs and weapons. On top of this hundreds of stop/searches have been carried out with assistance from the Partnership funded knife arches and also the GMP dog unit.
As part of an extensive programme of education and behaviour change, TravelSafe have delivered a record-breaking number of sessions to over 50,500 young people at schools, colleges and universities.
Through the recently extended partnership with Foundation 92 the youth diversion and mentoring offer for young people has enhanced and will continue well into the New Year.
