Police operation leads to 19 arrests and over 1,000 fines

As part of Operation AVRO, Greater Manchester Police’s Transport Unit and Transport for Greater Manchester carried out targeted deployments across all 10 Greater Manchester districts. 

Officers were out in force showing a visible presence in their local area, patrolling the Metrolink network as well as the bus routes for that district.

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.

Deputy Mayor for Policing, Crime, Fire and Criminal Justice, Kate Green with GMP officers (Image: GMP)

“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.”

The first day of action began with a briefing at Piccadilly Gardens followed by a knife sweep of the area before the operation continued at Victoria Station, with officers from the Dog Unit and Tactical Aid Unit in attendance as passengers passed through one of the many knife arches posted around Greater Manchester.

On the outskirts of the City Centre, two traffic operations took place on Regent Road and Bury New Road.

Officers recorded 333 traffic offences over a two-day period, which included 152 speed offences and seven arrests. 
Officers recovered 88 Beryl Bikes across the two-day operation (Image: GMP)
In Salford, there was a dedicated operation focusing on the theft and vandalism of Greater Manchester’s Beryl Bikes.

A total of 88 stolen or vandalised bikes were recovered over the two days, which will be refurbished and ready for public use soon.

Officers from Tameside took an active presence on the 201 and 347 bus routes, providing reassurance to the public and deterring any anti-social behaviour on the services and at the bus station itself.

The Deputy Mayor for Greater Manchester Kate Green also visited multiple locations throughout the day, she said: “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.

“It sends out a clear message that crime and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated on our transport network or anywhere else.”

In Wigan, there was support for rough sleepers from The Brick at the bus station, along with an engagement stall in association with Wigan Youth Zone.

Transport Commissioner Vernon Everitt also made several visits to deployments throughout AVRO, visiting Bolton Interchange on Thursday to see the first use of Foundation 92’s new mobile hub.

The charity, which works in partnership with TravelSafe, 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 (Image: GMP)

Superintendent Gareth Parkin thanked everyone involved in the operation and highlighted the importance of their actions.

He said: “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.”

Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester said: “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.