Gangs of ‘feral’ teens spread terror on line
Call for action amid a wave of assaults, sexual abuse, intimidation and vandalism
GANGS of ‘feral’ teenagers and organised criminals are plaguing parts of the Metrolink, attacking drivers and breaking ticket machines – sparking calls for a major beefing up of security on the worst-hit lines.
A fresh wave of assaults, sexist abuse, intimidation and vandalism during 2017 included one attack that saw a driver seriously injured by a hurled brick.
The latest update on incidents to transport chiefs reveals a particular spike in crime on the Oldham and Rochdale line, prompting one senior councillor to call for additional staff.
Metrolink saw a 12 per cent annual rise in antisocial behaviour incidents between October and December, according to the report, around a third of which were on the Oldham and Rochdale route.
Earlier in the year a driver was seriously injured by a brick thrown from a bridge between the Derker and Shaw and Crompton stops.
Elsewhere on the network, a member of staff was hit on the back of the head at Withington by an 18-year-old who was later cautioned by police. Two workers were assaulted by another thug – at Trafford Bar and Victoria – before being arrested.
Many of the incidents came after promises from mayor Andy Burnham that the issue would be tackled, including through the recruitment last summer of 70 new staff, as well as a more targeted approach.
Coun Roger Jones, a member of the TfGM committee, admitted more still needs to be done – adding that security now needed to be ‘number one priority’.
“I think when it comes t o vandalism and anti-social behaviour there are some people who have decided the trams are okay because they’ve only got a driver and are an easy target,” he said.
“We can’t allow any line in any area to become the victim of that kind of behaviour. This has got to be the top priority. We’ve got to use all our resources as well as police resources to stamp it out.”
He added: “I think we need more than a driver in certain circumstances on Metrolink.
“Whenever there’s a problem, as there is on the Oldham and Rochdale line, we need to make sure there are additional staff available on that line until it improves.
“We can’t just take those statistics and say ‘they aren’t good’ – they are worse than that. If we don’t do something now it will keep getting worse and become more of a feature of Metrolink on other lines.”
He also pointed out that if a fully contactless smart system were in place – a process now underway – there would be considerably less cash to steal from machines.
Our sister paper the M.E.N. has reported previously on spates of crime across the Metrolink, including fears of a ‘mini gang culture’ developing around Prestwich tram stops.
In November, we told how a gang of around 50 schoolchildren was running riot in East Didsbury, causing ‘widespread disruption’ to services during evening rush hour.
The biggest problem has been smashed windows – with 22 such incidents reported over just 28 days in November and December.
In total there were 203 anti-social behaviour incidents in the three months to December 9, 63 of which were on the Oldham and Rochdale line, with 44 on the Airport route.
At the same time thieving gangs have been destroying ticket machines, not only losing Metrolink thousands of pounds in revenue, but also costing £20,000 for each replacement machine.
All the machines South Chadderton currently out of order.
The father of one driver told the M.E.N. that staff felt seriously threatened at night, particularly by gangs of teenagers.
“There are feral kids,” he said.
“They come out at 7pm and ride the trams, they shout abuse, throw stones. My son fears physical attacks every day. Female drivers are having to put up with abuse and crude innuendo too.
“The public don’t know what’s really going on – the damage, the verbal abuse. Metrolink is a fantastic system to be proud of – but we need more security staff permanently on routes – and they need real power to physically chuck people off or they will just keep ignoring them.”
Oldham South councillor Chris Goodwin, who is one of the borough’s representatives on the TfGM committee, also told the M.E.N.: “I raise concerns regularly with the operator regarding anti-social behaviour on Metrolink.
“The problems are prevalent on the Oldham and Rochdale line, but also the Airport and Ashton lines.
“The recent addition of the TravelSafe officers are welcome on the network and it does make a difference when they are present.
“And, of course, any additional measures to tackle the problems would also be welcome. But a lot of the problems are caused by youngsters who are at stations, not on the trams.
“We need parents to help with that and make in are ●●Last year a driver was seriously injured and a tram damaged by a brick thrown from a bridge between the Derker and Shaw and Crompton stops sure they know where their children are and what they are doing.”
Aline Frantzen, managing director at KeolisAmey Metrolink (KAM), said bad behaviour ranged from ‘misbehaving to criminal activity’.
Describing the situation as ‘unacceptable’ for customers, she added: “I want to see us catching people a lot more and reporting people more.”
She said staff had been out to schools in Didsbury to talk to children about bad behaviour - that some had come up and apologised to them at the end, and that there were signs of improvement on the line.
“Anti-social behaviour is an on-going issue for Greater Manchester and has an impact on our staff and customers. We are working with our partners, schools and other organisations to tackle the root cause and deal with those added.
Danny Vaughan, TfGM’s Head of Metrolink, said they were taking proactive steps to ensure ticket machines were as secure as possible, as well as additional measures including a ‘sprawling network’ of CCTV at all stops and daily cash collection.
He said two men had been arrested and charged following a recent spate of thefts from machines, adding: “As a result of these recent incidents we are now investigating what additional steps we can take to further enhance the security features of our machines to reduce the risk of these types of incidents happening again.”
Insp Cecelia Oakley, of GMP’s TravelSafe Partnership, said: “I’d like to assure the Metrolink drivers that we do all we can to keep public transport responsible,” she across Greater Manchester safe.
“The dedicated TravelSafe Partnership was established as a response to anti-social behaviour and crime on the region’s buses, trams and trains.
She said officers, PCSOs Special Constables and TravelSafe officers work together to share expertise to find long-term solutions to anti-social issues and identify repeat offenders, adding: “With this combined knowledge, we can send our officers to the place they are most needed, enabling them to take swift action if they see people disrupting transport networks.”
Encouraging those with concerns to raise them directly with officers so they can take action, she said they would continue to reduce crime on public transport to ensure Greater Manchester passengers feel safe.