Police have arrested a 16-year-old child who they say was found carrying a 'bladed article' during routine patrols of public transport interchanges.
The force’s transport unit was at the Bury and Bolton Interchanges on Saturday evening as part of ‘regular deployments across Greater Manchester’s transport system’.
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The aim of the operation was to target people involved in crime or antisocial behaviour.
At Bury interchange, police detained a 16-year-old boy and found a ‘bladed article’.
Two young people, aged 15 and 16, were seen ‘behaving suspiciously’ by police and were detained for a search, one on suspicion of possessing controlled drugs and the other on suspicion of possessing a bladed article.
On Facebook, officers from GMP’s Bury team said: “During tonight's deployment a male juvenile was detained by officers and found in possession of a bladed article.
“His Saturday night now consists of a trip to one of our custody suites.
“If you have any concerns please speak to one of our officers so that we can ensure we spend our time in the areas that matter most to you.”
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In a statement, inspector Stephen Griffin of GMP Transport Unit said: “GMP works as part of the Greater Manchester Travelsafe Partnership to ensure public transport in Manchester is safe for all users.
“The patrols yesterday were very much daily business for the Transport Unit and I hope these arrests provide reassurance to the pubic that our officers will always seek to take positive action against anyone suspected of committing a crime.
“Transport Interchanges are for the use of passengers wishing to use our public transport network and we will continue to proactively target crime and anti-social behaviour to ensure legitimate passengers can feel safe.”
Later this year, night buses will return to Bolton as part of a pilot scheme launched by Mayor Andy Burnham.
The 36 from Piccadilly Gardens to Bolton and the V1 from Manchester Royal Infirmary to Leigh will both run through the night.
It comes as a new report revealed incidents of anti-social behaviour on Greater Manchester’s public transport network had risen slightly, with assaults on buses surging by 48 per cent.
Last year, public transport bosses vowed to take action against troublemakers on services.
Greater Manchester’s TravelSafe Partnership warned young people they could lose free or concessionary travel passes or be banned from public transport if they persistently engaged in antisocial behaviour.
Figures released in 2022 showed more than two in five incidents of crime or antisocial behaviour on the city-region’s public transport network are ‘youth-related’.
Greater Manchester Police has been contacted for comment.
If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.
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