A shocking average of 242 incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour PER MONTH were reported on and around Greater Manchester's Metrolink network over the last 12 months, new figures reveal. That equates to an annual total of 2,904 - or around 60 reports every week.
Transport bosses reported the most common incident type to be 'smashed station furniture', followed by damage to trams. As a result, the Manchester Evening News can reveal Metrolink bosses are now considering replacing glass in shelters with other materials. The change, a new report reveals, is being 'explored to mitigate the impact of this damage'.
The details were revealed at a meeting on Friday of the Metrolink and rail sub-committee of the Greater Manchester transport committee. In an update to members, a report from head of Metrolink at TfGM, Danny Vaughan, revealed that on average, 242 incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour per month were reported to Metrolink over the last 12 months.
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A table of different categories of crime showed reported incidents in July 2019 compared to reported incidents in July this year, with 'weapons incidents' doubling to eight from four.
There were 50 incidents of criminal damage in July this year - compared to 28 two years ago - and an increase in sexual assaults/sexual incidents. There were 21 reports of robbery or theft in July, 28 reports of anti-social behaviour - a vast increase - and 10 tram 'surfing' cases, again an increase from 2019.
More incidents are said to be reported on the Oldham/Rochdale line than any other, although bosses said incidents overall were 'dispersed' along the network's line. "The most common incident type is smashed station furniture, followed by damage to trams," said the report.
"TfGM is exploring the potential installation of materials other than glass in shelters to mitigate the impact of this damage. This line remains a current TravelSafe tactical priority and TravelSafe Officers (TSO) deployments are prioritised for this line especially during evenings."
'Youth-related' anti-social behaviour was also reported on the Manchester Airport line. "The incidents primarily involve youths engaging in antisocial behaviour and activating door handles, resulting in delays on the network and distress to passengers," said the report.
Mr Vaughan said there were now 'more joint patrols with Greater Manchester Police than ever before'.
In July, coinciding with the Euros football tournament, roof panels were pulled off six trams by vandals, costing around £20,000 to repair, he said. "It is not insignificant," Mr Vaughan said.
Greater Manchester Police's Transport Unit regularly conducts bus and tram deployments across the region - and the meeting heard two days of special operations will take place in the Rochdale area next week.
Investments have also been made within the TravelSafe Partnership with TfGM, with targeted operations on the Oldham and Rochdale Metrolink line, and that is set to continue. The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, announced 'significant' new resources would be pumped into the partnership for 'current and future enforcement'.
It will also take part in Operation Avro, GMP's force-wide initiative which runs monthly to tackle criminal activity.
Speaking in December last year Bev Hughes, deputy mayor for policing, crime and criminal Justice, said a full-time policing unit on the Metrolink would cost a minimum of £20m and require 430 staff members, making it costly to operate when the majority of journeys take place without incident.
In the first six-months of this year the TravelSafe Partnership ran 57 operations at more than 40 locations. Almost 30,000 passengers were checked, two wanted people detained and 3,256 fines issued to people travelling without a valid ticket. Over the same period, GMP's Transport Unit made 352 arrests and conducted more than 500 stop searches.
Chief Inspector Ronnie Nelson, from the unit, said the force was focused and determined to combat crime around Metrolink and all public transport locations across Greater Manchester. Knife crime, he said, was a priority and hot-spot areas are regularly patrolled. He said he expects the figures to rise as now, reporting a crime or incident is easier than ever.
Chief Inspector Nelson said: "We now have a link to a live chat function and there are so many ways to communicate with us. People can text us and there are informal reporting mechanisms. The data helps inform us about where to send our patrols. You see the headline, but there are reasons behind it. The Transport Unit, alone, is arresting around 80 people per month and that is just one, smaller team. There are other teams we have and that figure will be higher when you factor that it.
"Arrests are going up and stop-and-searches are going up. We are now more aware of what is happening and where it is happening.
"We deploy a mixture of tactics, both high-visibility policing and plain clothes policing. We are working hard, as always, with our partners. It is mainly driven by youth anti-social behaviour, which is a problem across Greater Manchester and the country."
Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, Vernon Everitt, said: "Ensuring people feel safe to use public transport is every bit as important as the changes we are making to services, fares and ticketing, and we know perceptions around crime and anti-social behaviour can be a real barrier to people travelling. The overwhelming majority of customers use our services simply to go about their day and treat it with respect. There is however a small minority who do not do so. Public transport is the beating heart of our city-region that spreads to all our communities."
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