Bolton and Bury see police step up patrols at interchange

Greater Manchester’s TravelSafe partnership increased its presence on public transport, including at Bolton Interchange, to reassure passengers.

The partnership which is led by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Greater Manchester Police (GMP), launched a special operation as the holiday season began.

TravelSafe officers were  deployed to Bolton and Bury interchanges and surrounding town centres as well as Manchester City Centre.

In total officers spoke 12,000 members of the public, with Metrolink staff issuing 600 fines to passengers who failed to produce a valid ticket.

Police 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.

Police officers stationed at Bolton Interchange (Image: GMP)

A high-risk missing person was also located and returned to safety during the operation.

As part of Operation AVRO, it utilised a range of specialist resources including knife arches, drones, and dog units, GMP’s Tactical Aid Unit, and district teams.

Operation AVRO deploys a surge of resources to tackle the crimes which matter most to communities, including crime and antisocial behaviour on public transport.

The operation was supported also by British Transport Police, Northern, Foundation 92 and local authorities.

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.”

Many specialist resources were used including knife arches (Image: TfGM)

Last week’s operation was the second Operation AVRO to be delivered by the TravelSafe Partnership following the two-day deployment in 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.

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.

Police officers stationed at Bury Interchange (Image: GMP)

“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.”

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