To tackle crime and antisocial behaviour in Greater Manchester and to keep travellers safe over the festive period, on Thursday, 14 December Greater Manchester Police, with support from Transport for Greater Manchester and other TravelSafe partners carried out its last Operation AVRO of 2023.

TravelSafe is a Partnership between Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Greater Manchester Police (GMP). Last week’s Operation AVRO saw high-visibility deployments in Manchester city centre and near Manchester Airport, with a strong focus on the public transport network, and resulted in 28 arrests and 29 stop searches.

Transport staff, uniformed police, and plainclothes officers were deployed at key hotspots on Metrolink alongside tactical units looking for fare evaders. As a result, 316 people were issued with £120 fines for travelling on Metrolink without a valid ticket.

TravelSafe is not a Christmas-only exercise, as it carries out operations across the transport network every week to ensure people feel safe while travelling. Excluding last week’s Operation AVRO, during 2023 the TravelSafe Partnership has carried out 75 special operations, resulting in 83 arrests. Officers have checked the tickets of 91,145 people and issued 4,370 fines for fare evasion.

Also this year, GMP’s Transport Unit has conducted over 2,000 stop searches resulting in over 1,000 arrests and the seizure of over 1,000 vehicles.

Vernon Everitt, Greater Manchester’s Transport Commissioner, said: “Everyone who travels on public transport is entitled to be safe and feel safe, when travelling by bus, tram or train as we continue to deliver and build out the integrated Bee Network.

“Crime and antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated, and while incidents remain low, we will take appropriate action when things do occur. Operations like AVRO allow us to reinforce this zero-tolerance approach towards crime and antisocial behaviour on our network.

“As always it’s brilliant to see all the agencies within TravelSafe working together to reassure the travelling public, and operations like AVRO serve as a testament to how strong this Partnership is.

“But AVRO is just one piece of the puzzle. The TravelSafe Partnership works throughout the entire year to ensure that people are safe on our public transport network, and I want to thank the hardworking officers for doing such an important job.”

Superintendent and Manchester Airport Commander Helen Caldbeck said; “The purpose of this Specialist Operations AVRO was to show strength in numbers, not just by Greater Manchester Police, but by working in partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester to ensure we make people feel safe.

“This type of action by our specialised resources, which covers a wide variety of disciplines, happens daily with a coordinated and organised patrol and response.

“Operation AVRO is our chance to be more visible to showcase this and our ongoing proactive work to keep people safe when visiting our city centre, airport and using the transport network in between these destinations.”

Kate Green, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Crime, Fire and Criminal Justice said: “Greater Manchester’s transport network is a key part of many residents’ lives and it’s great that more and more people are using our trams, buses, and active travel spaces after the launch of the Bee Network. And as we continue to encourage people onto public transport it is increasingly vital that it is safe for all so that no one is deterred.

“Crime and anti-social behaviour of any kind is never acceptable, and it has been superb to see firsthand how Greater Manchester Police with TfGM and the TravelSafe Partnership really take this kind of behaviour on our public transport seriously.

“I hope this shows residents that their safety on the public transport network is our top priority and that GMP, TfGM, and the TravelSafe Partnership will do all it takes to eradicate crime from the network.”