At last! Proper police officers are back on Metrolink and people love it

GMP officers posted this picture on Facebook - brilliant

Undercover cops are being used as part of a new tactic to catch criminals and stamp out antisocial behaviour on Metrolink and the rest of Greater Manchester public transport network.

They are being dispatched to tram stops as well as bus and rail stations to mingle with commuters before a squad of uniformed colleagues arrives.

The undercover officers watch, listen and swoop when they see anything untoward.

Launched without fanfare on November 18, it has already seen a crackdown on drunks whose behaviour often frightens other transport users and has also resulted in a number of arrests.

And it represents a major turnaround for GMP bosses who realised that the team of 50 PCSOs who had been patrolling the tram network since 2017 were struggling to cope with the drunkenness, violence and loutish behaviour terrorising the network.

GMP bosses say they 'reluctantly' introduced the PCSOs rather than police officers as austerity-related cuts had left them with little alternative.

On Wednesday night, the new squad arrested a man who had been spotted trying to hide behind others on the platform at Trafford Bar tram stop and found he was wanted and had been on the run for eight months.

The officer who made the arrest posted a picture of the suspect being led away in handcuffs on the GMP's Trafford South Facebook page and wrote that the man 'didn't expect to literally bump into plain clothed officers on trying to make his escape'.

After seeing uniformed officers, the 30-something had tried to hide and then get away only to find an officer in plain clothes was right behind him.

He was quickly surrounded and arrested for allegedly breaching a court order.

The arrest immediately prompted an outpouring of praise on the Facebook page.

It's one one of a series of positive results for the fledgling 'Transport Unit' of GMP, set up because of rising concerns about crime and antisocial behaviour on public transport and the rising anxiety of transport users, particularly around knife crime.

So far the team has located 40 missing people, including one young girl, carried out 40 stop-searches, issued 40 cannabis warnings, made eight arrests and also carried out ten positive drugs tests, three positive breath tests and seized nine vehicles for not having insurance.

A 44-year-old man has been cautioned for being intoxicated on a tram, failing to provide his details and resisting arrest.

A 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly at Victoria Station. He was handed a 'community resolution' which requires him seek help for his alcohol use and which bans him from Manchester Arena while intoxicated.

The new 50-strong 'transport unit' also has a remit to tackle rogue motorists.

A 31-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of drink driving after her car was seen carrying out an illegal turn on Newton Street in Manchester city centre. She has been charged.

Another motorist was caught driving in the dark without lights.

The new unit will add much needed beef and legal powers to the the existing TravelSafe team of police, specialist constables and security staff which, together with the PCSOs, had struggled to cope.

Superintendent Julie Ellison said: “The Transport Unit are committed to supporting our local neighbourhood teams and our partners. The new team is made up entirely of police officers and this provides us with more powers to address those issues on the whole transport network that cause road and public network users concern.

“The team will be working shifts and providing a visible presence across Greater Manchester on a daily basis."

Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Hughes, who has responsibility for policing, said: “I am really pleased that the new transport unit is now up and running to help keep the people of Greater Manchester safer across our transport networks.

“When people use the transport systems in place across the city-region they expect that they will be safe – and rightly so.

“The changes are partly-funded through an increase in local council tax, responding to residents’ calls for tougher policing on the transport network, and the investment will enable tougher enforcement across the transport network, stopping offenders in their tracks and keeping the public safe.”

Get breaking news first on the free Manchester Evening News app - download it here for your Apple or Android device. You can also get a round-up of the biggest stories sent direct to your inbox every day with the MEN email newsletter - subscribe here . And you can follow us on Facebook here .