The Northern Territory Government is rolling out a three-day high visibility operation on bus networks across Darwin and Palmerston targeting anti-social behaviour.
From today, Transit Officers will join Wilson Security, NT Police, Family and Youth Support officers and Student Engagement Officers across the network.
Transit Officers can direct a person to leave a bus, interchange or stop, issue on-the-spot fines, arrest and detain a person if they have reasonable ground to believe a person has committed an offence and seize dangerous articles from someone who has been arrested, the Government said in a statement.
Staff will be patrolling known hot spots and problematic bus routes as they work through to support the last buses of the evening, said Minister for Infrastructure, Bill Yan.
The Minister said the operation would deliver security and certainty for drivers and passengers.
“These crackdowns are an integral part of improving safety on our bus network,” he said.
“Everyone deserves to get to their destination with safety and respect on our public transport network and these operations help achieve that.”
Minister Yan said the last operation saw a marked drop in anti-social behaviour across the bus network after the first day.
“The high visibility strategy sends a clear message that anti-social behaviour in any form will not be tolerated.”
He said the Government’s recent strengthening of powers for Transit Officers were providing additional safety measures for bus drivers and passengers.
“There is a clear standard that we expect people to have when using and sharing public transport.”
“These new powers help our officers do their job to enforce them.
“This is a further example of holding offenders to account so everyone else can benefit from a growing economy and enjoy our Territory lifestyle,” he said.
