British Transport Police has recently launched Operation Goliath, aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour on public transport.
From October 30, 2012, the police will be offering extra assistance to commuters on the public transport network in the West Midlands area, in terms of more patrols on board buses, trains and trams. The officers from the Safer Travel team will be there to boost traveller confidence with a more visible presence, and to target incidences of high level and low-level anti-social behaviour, such as smoking and swearing inside the coaches.
The operation will also include the handing out of informative cards to passengers, offering advice on what to do should they witness such offensive and criminal behaviour.
Sergeant Chris Casey of the British Transport Police, said, ‘It is important to remember that crime is down on public transport and that the network in the West Midlands is a very safe way of getting about.
That said, there is always a handful of people who seem to think they can do what they like with no regard for the rest of us, and they are the targets of Operation Goliath.
Such people should be aware that their fellow passengers have a way of letting us know about it, we are listening and we will be looking for them.’
Passengers may text ‘bus’, ‘metro’ or ‘rail’, followed by a space and details of any incident to 83010. Alternately they can lodge their complaints at the www.safertravel.info website, or by telephoning police on 101 for bus, and 0800 405040 for rail and Metro incidents.
The authorities have reported that there has been a 65 percent decrease in crime rates on rail and buses in the West Midlands since 2007, although crimes tend to spike during the Halloween and Bonfire Night celebrations each year.
