Police Carry Out Summer Holiday Patrols on Borough's Buses
Operation SafeBus cracks down on anti-social behaviour
Police are stepping up their presence on local buses this week in an operation called SafeBus, which aims to reduce anti-social behaviour in the summer holidays.
Officers from the Safer Transport Team, who are funded by Transport for London, will carry out patrols on all buses in the borough, with a particular focus on services around Hammersmith and Westfield Shopping Centre.
Police say this week, in the middle of August, is traditionally a peak time for anti-social behaviour among young people, following the end of the school year.
The team say that working with local Safer Neighbourhood Teams, the British Transport Police and TfL’s Revenue Inspector, they aim to engage with young people, reassure the travelling public, identify and deal with suspects of bus crime and reduce youth violence.
Bus-related crime across London is at its lowest for the last six years and our borough has also seen a decrease in the last year of 4% overall and a drop of 11% in pickpocketing.
Steve Burton, Director for Community Safety, Enforcement and Policing at TfL, says: "Travelling on London’s buses should be a pleasant experience for all passengers, but a small minority can ruin journeys with their unacceptable behaviour.
Safebus will continue in the borough and across London with further operations running from mid-October to mid-November this year to cover the Halloween and Guy Fawkes period, which see similar increases in anti-social behaviour.
August 18, 2010
