Nexus in partnership with Northumbria Police and North Tyneside Council have launched another year of Operation Coastwatch. This will see extra patrols along the North Tyneside coast throughout the summer in a bid to tackle disorder and anti-social behaviour.
As part of the campaign the Police work with partners to identify, investigate and act against licenced premises which are found to see alcohol to underage individuals – with licences revoked if necessary to provide a deterrent to other retailers in the area. They also gather cross-agency intelligence on anyone found to be taking part in criminality or disorder as well as carrying out modified CCTV plans to best use resources and capture disorder ahead of prosecution.
Erika Allen, Quality, Healthy, Safety, Security Environment Director at Nexus, said: “Metro is a major gateway into the North Tyneside coastline over the summer months, and we want people to come and enjoy it, but we don’t want a minority of troublemakers to spoil it for everyone else. We’re working closely with the police and our local authority partners again this year through Operation Coastwatch. Metro is a safe system and we are determined to keep it that way.
“These operations are proving successful in dealing with any issue that arise, including anti-social behaviour and fare evasion. This builds on the work we have already done to improve safety and security on the transport network, including the roll out of our dedicated security teams, investment in new CCTV, and the launch of our new text message alert system to allow customers to contact the Metro control room more easily.”
Chief Superintendent for North Tyneside, Dan Whyte from Northumbria Police, added: “Year on year we’ve seen that Operation Coastwatch delivers in its purpose which is to keep our communities in North Tyneside safe and allow everyone to enjoy our award-winning coastlines in peace. With each warm weekend or event, we carefully set out a targeted and planned approach to ensure we can be as effective as possible.
“We know that local residents and businesses have concerns around anti-social behaviour and disorder, and we want to reassure them that we, along with our partners, are here to continue to support and protect communities.
“I want to be clear that any pockets of disorder will be dealt with swifty and robustly. We won’t tolerate people negatively impacting the experience of others. The warmer weather isn’t a green light for people to stop obeying the law. We all have a responsibility to one another, and everyone deserves to have a good time without worrying about the actions of others.
“As ever, we’d ask the wider community to help us and continue to show their support. I’d encourage parents and carers to continue to engage, work with us by speaking to your children about where they are heading, what they are doing and the potential consequences of getting mixed up in anti-social behaviour.”