A huge crackdown on crime across Greater Manchester's transport network took place over recent days . Hundreds of traffic offences, more than 1,000 Metrolink fines, 19 arrests, and 88 stolen or vandalised Beryl Bikes were recovered in the days of action.
The action was carried out by GMP's transport unit alongside Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) across all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester in Operation AVRO. The tram network and bus routes were patrolled by officers over two days with 19 arrests and 143 stop-and-searches undertaken - with 1,102 fines for fare evasion on Metrolink issued in just 48 hours.
Knife arches were posted around the region, including at major stations such as Victoria and Piccadilly. Traffic operations on Regent Road and Bury New Road caught 333 traffic offences, which included 152 speeding offences with seven arrests made.
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A dedicated operation to recover stolen and vandalised Beryl Bikes took place in Salford with many being used in criminality, police said. A total of 88 were recovered which will be refurbished to be put into public use.
Officers were also stationed at Hyde Bus Station to deter anti-social behaviour, and on the 201 and 347 services. In Wigan there were support for rough sleepers from The Brick at the bus station, along with an engagement stall in association with Wigan Youth Zone.
A new mobile hub from the Foundation 92 charity was visited at Bolton Interchange by Transport Commissioner Vernon Everitt. The charity works in partnership with TravelSafe and has been tackling youth-related anti-social behaviour on public transport by talking directly to youngsters across the network.
There were also Transport operations around the Metrolink and bus routes at Altrincham, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Stockport interchanges.
Superintendent Gareth Parkin said: “This was an important two-day Operation AVRO for us as we once again rolled out our resources across Greater Manchester. We often refer to our network system as the ‘11th district’, so having an active presence working alongside our partners from TravelSafe, the GMCA, Transport for Greater Manchester and Beryl Bikes was a priority for us.
"Officers from each district set up specialist operations to try and combat anti-social behaviour, knife crime, theft, and other pressing priorities for that district. As you can see from the results above, there have been a great number of arrests, stop and searches carried out and fines handed out for fare evasion on our Metrolink network.
"I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work over the two-day period, and I look forward to working with all partner agencies again in the future to continue to make Greater Manchester a safer place to work and live."
Kate Green, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Crime, Fire and Criminal Justice said: "Our transport network across Greater Manchester is a crucial part of people’s everyday lives, whether they are travelling to and from work, visiting friends and family or coming to the city centre to enjoy themselves. That is exactly why we cannot let the behaviour of a minority of people impact the experiences of others or even deter them from using public transport.
"This crackdown is an excellent demonstration of the hard work carried out every day to keep people safe across Greater Manchester as they are travelling and sends out a clear message that crime and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated on our transport network or anywhere else."
Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester said: "While the overwhelming majority of people treat fellow customers, hardworking transport staff and public transport and active travel facilities with respect, there are some who do not. Operations like AVRO allow us to reinforce our zero-tolerance approach towards crime and anti-social behaviour on the public transport network. It was brilliant to see all the agencies which make up the TravelSafe Partnership working together to tackle these issues and reassure the travelling public.
"Ensuring the safety of everyone who uses and works on public transport will always remain a key priority for me and the TravelSafe Partnership as we continue to deliver the integrated Bee Network."
Greater Manchester Police can be contacted via gmp.police.uk or 101. For incidents on the bus and tram networks, you can report incidents quickly and discreetly to a live GMP call handler, from your smartphone, using the LiveChat service.
In an emergency, always dial 999. Information about crime also be shared anonymously via the independent charity – Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
