Lancashire to get new Transport Safety Officers for crack down on antisocial behaviour
Specially-trained Transport Safety Officers are going to be put on patrol in Lancashire as part of an Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan
Front-line safety personnel will be rolled out on public transport in four English areas to help stamp out anti-social behaviour.
The new pilot scheme, which is backed by £2.5m from the Department for Transport, hopes to help local areas to enhance public safety in, around and on transport and help prevent violence against women and girls.
The new officers will patrol targeted routes and locations, working in co-ordination with local police forces and the British Transport Police and they will have the ability to issue fixed penalty notices for antisocial behaviour.
Lancashire is among the areas selected for the pilot, along with Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole, Stoke-on-Trent and Thurrock, in collaboration with Essex and Southend-on-Sea councils.
Transport minister Richard Holden said: "“Antisocial behaviour is completely unacceptable – I want to see it eradicated from our public transport.
"The pilot will also give us a greater understanding of what works when it comes to tackling antisocial behaviour, enabling us to continue improving journeys for passengers in the future.”
The funding for this pilot comes as part of the wider Government commitment to improve public transport and follows the first wave of new funding that has been redirected from HS2.