Operation Avro turned to the transport network this week in a crackdown on anti-social behaviour and criminal behaviour across Greater Manchester.

Typically the operation comes to one of the 10 boroughs once a month with the aim of addressing the issues which matter most to their communities.

It started in the city centre with activities such as patrols and searches but it spread to transport hubs and transport interchanges in the other boroughs as well.

The Oldham Times was allowed into the control centre at Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to track the operation and to talk to some of those involved.

Gareth Parkin, of the GMP Safer Transport Team, said: "We treat our transport infrastructure like another district so it is important we replicate Operation Avro across this transport infrastructure.

"We want more and more people to be using public transport and it is important for them to be safe when they’re using public transport. Hence why we’re running the operation today."

A bank of 20 or so screens allows the control centre to check thousands of cameras across the region and to coordinate the response to any anti-social behaviour or criminal behaviour 24 hours a day.

The Oldham Times:

Superintendent Parkin said: "Today we’ve got significant resources from across Greater Manchester under the banner of Operation Avro. But what I would reassure people is we've got significant resources on our transport infrastructure regularly.

"People will see on the buses, on the trams, people in uniform out there to give them this reassurance.”

On September 24 this year the first phase of the Bee Network is set to start in Bolton and Wigan. The first phase is set to start in the other boroughs before the end of 2024.

The Oldham Times:

Kate Green, the Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: "We want the network's arrival in Bolton and Wigan to be a huge party, a huge success. It's a good news story for our residents they'll have this network, but we want them to be comfortable and to be confident using it.

"That's a top priority for GMP, for TfGM, for the mayor [Andy Burnham] and for me and it always will be."

The results of Operation Avro, including the number of arrests, are set to be revealed at the start of next week.


This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.