This month, GMP’s Transport Unit celebrates its first anniversary. Launched in November 2019, the Transport Unit tackles incidents on the Greater Manchester transport network.
The unit comprises of 63 officers, and supports the work of the wider TravelSafe Partnership (TSP) – which includes Transport for Greater Manchester and public transport operators. The aim is to reduce fatalities and injuries on our roads, reduce crime and antisocial behaviour (ASB) on the transport network and improve public confidence and road safety.
In its quest to make the transport network of Greater Manchester even safer, over the past year, the unit has:
- Undergone over 3,000 targeted patrols of public transport , focussing on hotspot areas to deter and disrupt criminality
- Made 409 arrests
- Seized a total of 729 vehicles and issued nearly 2,000 traffic offence reports for a variety of driving matters
- Located over 100 people who had been reported missing from home
Officers from the Transport Unit work alongside partners such as Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and local authorities on a daily basis, but have also worked together on 29 joint focused days of actions across the transport network over the past year.
Superintendent Julie Ellison, said: “Everyone using the transport network in Greater Manchester should feel safe when doing so.
“The work that our officers in the Transport Unit have done over the past year has ensured that users have felt more at ease when travelling and that offenders are met with the appropriate action.
“We remain committed to working alongside the TravelSafe Partnership to further reduce crime and anti-social on our transport networks.”
Transport for Greater Manchester’s TravelSafe Partnership Manager, Kate Green, said: “Public transport is a safe way to travel and the success of the Transport Unit during its first year has provided a significant boost to the work already being done by the Greater Manchester TravelSafe Partnership (TSP) to keep it that way.
“The presence of both uniformed and plain clothes police officers on the transport networks not only provides visual reassurance to passengers but also allows for much tougher enforcement against those that choose to break the law.
“The figures for the first year speak volumes and demonstrates our commitment to ensuring people can travel safely and with confidence. It’s apt that we are marking the anniversary with a partnership week of action taken in response to a spike in incidents in the Leigh area.”
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