British Transport Police have a text number where passengers can report incidents on trains. this is not to replace the 999 number but targeted at rowdy behavior, drunk disorderly issues and other antisocial issues. Importantly it allows people to report something subtly.
BTP are re-launching the campaign following its initial success and further details from their press release are below:
The introduction of our 61016 text number in March 2013 was highly successful, with 1,185 incidents reported within the first six months of the service. The service offers the travelling public and rail staff a means to contact us directly in an anonymous and subtle way, in order to report non-emergency crime.
The relaunch aims to increase awareness of the service and subsequently increase the level of reporting.
When to use the text service:
Text 61016 (or call 0800 40 50 40) when you want to contact us about an issue that doesn’t require an emergency response. For example, you can text when:
You want to tell about an incident that has already happened
You want to tell us about issues affecting your rail journey or your local station
You have a general police enquiry
If your enquiry concerns buses or roads, you can contact local police anywhere in the country by dialling 101.
