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Assault continues on ‘anti-social’ passengers

A spate of arrests have been made on NSW public transport

May 29, 2012

More than 50 people were arrested on New South Wales public transport at the weekend as part of the Police Transport Command’s (PTC) ongoing assault
on ‘anti-social’ passengers.

According to Acting Police Transport Commander Max Mitchell, 54 people were arrested and 59 people were charged during the PTC’s Merge III operation on Friday and Saturday.

Mitchell says the PTC officers
patrolled 90 buses and 632 trains in the Sydney metropolitan area, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Hunter and Illawarra regions.

“Officers patrolled railway stations, bus interchanges, wharves and nearby licensed premises, and performed duties while travelling on hundreds of train, bus and ferry services,” Mitchell says.

The PTC officers
searched 290 people, issued 192 people with move-on directions, and gave 70 people official cautions and 420 people rail infringement notices.

A drug-detection dog was also used.

Premier Barry O’Farrell says the police crackdown demonstrates determination to make the State’s public transport system safe.

“The new Police Transport Command – which is about putting police back on trains, buses and ferries – is already having an impact, as demonstrated by the success of this operation,”
O’Farrell says.

According to police, a number of passengers were charged with assault, assaulting police, malicious damage, supplying and possessing prohibited drugs, and offensive behaviour.

Police say they also confiscated a knife and graffiti materials.

The Police Transport Command was established on May 1 to target ‘anti-social’ behaviour on the public transport network.

Almost 100 people have been arrested
or charged
during the
PTC’s operations.

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