A POLICE team has been launched to tackle and prevent crime on trams and buses in Trafford and the rest of Greater Manchester.
Under the pilot scheme, a 16-strong team of police constables, police community support officers, special constables and security personnel will regularly patrol the region’s networks for the next three years.
They will wear body cameras to help gather evidence in court hearings - and offenders could be baned from travelling on public transport.
Led by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Greater Manchester Police (GMP), the scheme will target patrols to 'hotspot' areas.
It will also see police officers visiting schools to educate youngsters on the dangers, impacts and consequences of crime, antisocial behaviour and fare evasion on public transport.
The pilot will initially run for three years but will be subject to formal annual reviews and regular scrutiny by a strategy group.
Chief Superintendent John O’Hare, from GMP, said of the new scheme: “The public transport network in Greater Manchester has grown considerably as has the number of people travelling on it. Unfortunately this can also attract criminals or inconsiderate people who, by acting in an antisocial manner, can make others feel intimidated.
“Everybody has the right to travel without the fear of crime and our aim through the Travelsafe Unit is to make people feel safe, deter criminality and effectively deal with any incidents that could affect public safety.”
The tram network previously had its own dedicated policing unit but this was scraped in 2007 amid funding cuts.
pic cap 1 - PIC1: (L-R) Stagecoach Manchester head of service delivery, Ross Stafford, Stagecoach Manchester operations director, Matt Davies, TfGM chief executive oficer, Dr Jon Lamonte, TfGM Metrolink director, Peter Cushing, Chief Superintendent John O’Hare, managing director of Metrolink RATP Dev Ltd, Chris Coleman, First Manchester revenue protection manager, Carl Oliver, First Manchester operations manager, Vicky Tomlinson.
pic cap 2 - Officers on patrol on the tram network
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