Susan Dungworth, the new Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, has taken a trip on the Tyne and Wear Metro to see the police and security measures in place on the system. She travelled with police officers from the Northumbria Force and the Metro security team on the evening of Saturday 17th August before finishing off at the Metro Control Room.
The visit came as it was announced that incidents of anti-social behaviour at identified hotspot areas across the Northumbrian Police force area have dropped by 30%. Project Shield – launched this summer – has seen officers rolling out extra patrols to deliver targeted activity in identified areas of concern which has made a positive impact.
The project has seen 68 additional police patrols delivered across the transport system which has corresponded with anti social behaviour incidents falling from 170 to 119. The number of knife crime incidents also fell from 3 to 1.
Susan Dungworth said: “Project Shield is about us all coming together to get officers and partners out there on our public transport network, creating a really visible uniformed presence. As these falling ASB numbers show – the impact has been positive. As it happens, in light of recent events relating to disorder and increased fears around racism, having Project Shield operating will no doubt bring added reassurance for people travelling on our public transport. People should be able to get on with their lives and get about our region without fear of abuse or harm. As well as helping people feel reassured it means there is greater resource on hand to catch those responsible for causing misery and harm in our communities too.”
Cathy Massarella, Managing Director of Nexus, said: “These latest ASB figures show progress and the extra policing we have seen through Operation Shield, and other similar policing operations, has had an impact. Metro is fundamentally a safe transport system and we will continue to work hard to reduce crime and low level disorder hot spots where it occurs.
“This builds on the work that we have already done to improve safety and security, including the roll out of our dedicated security team, new CCTV, body-worn video cameras for frontline teams, and the launch of our new text alert system to allow customers to contact the Metro control room more quickly and more easily.
“Our message remains the same: anyone causing trouble on Metro should think again, as they are likely to get caught and face prosecution through the courts, a fine, and even a ban from using the system.”