Spectacular success for Doncaster's 'Trojan Bus' operation

Police in Doncaster have run a 'Trojan Bus' service in Armthorpe to catch vandals and other offenders with spectacular results.

A sixteen year old youth was apprehended for attempted damage after being seen by officers throwing bricks towards the bus25 individuals were spoken to with names and addressees taken and two antisocial behaviour contracts were issued and five antisocial behaviour letters were sent to parents. Several individuals are being referred to other agencies for further intervention.

Officers from the Armthorpe Safer Neighbourhood Team, liaised with partners at First South Yorkshire Ltd who run the buses and negotiated the use of a trojan Bus provided by First that was deployed on the routes that had been subject to criminal damage. The bus contained police staff in plain clothes purporting to be members of the public travelling as passengers. The operation was conducted over two nights.

A sixteen year old youth was apprehended for attempted damage after being seen by officers throwing bricks towards the bus. Twenty five  individuals were spoken to with names and addressees taken and two antisocial behaviour contracts were issued and five antisocial behaviour letters were sent to parents. Several individuals are being referred to other agencies for further intervention. Sergeant Goodwin from Armthorpe Safer Neighbourhood team said “The operation was a great success and shows what can be achieved when agencies work together. Anyone involved in acts of vandalism to bus stops and buses need to be very aware as the bus may contain police officers ready to act on anyone committing offences. Operations of this type will continue across the borough.”

Brandon Jones, Business Development Director/Deputy MD for First in South Yorkshire, said: "We are delighted that the Trojan Bus has helped to make a significant impact on those who commit anti social behaviour to First buses.

"First is committed to working in partnership with South Yorkshire Police and other partners to tackle such mindless acts of vandalism and this joint initiative gives a strong statement that we will not tolerate such behaviour.

"Thankfully acts of vandalism towards our buses are rare and by working together on such innovative projects as Trojan Bus then we will lower even further the number of incidents on our buses in the coming months."