Eastbourne police crackdown on railway crime

Sussex Police said throughout this week Eastbourne neighbourhood policing officers had been working in partnership with Southern Railway staff, Rail Enforcement Officers and British Transport Police (BTP) in a joint operation to prevent criminality on and around the railways.

A spokesperson from Sussex Police said, “After seeing an increase in anti-social behaviour on trains in the area, officers mounted a joint operation to identify offenders and take action.

“This followed action taken at Lewes and Seaford train stations earlier this week.

“Activities also focused on identifying those more likely to be recruited by county lines groups; such as younger people and other vulnerable people.”

County lines groups use the railways in order to move drugs from place to place, according to police.

The spokesperson said, “The day started at Hampden Park Railway Station where tickets were checked, with several people being found to be travelling without a valid fare and dealt with by BTP for that offence.

“Others were stopped and searched for drugs and other items following intelligence and reports around county lines groups using the rail network to commit offences; this was a high-impact operation demonstrating that unacceptable behaviour and county lines will not be tolerated and offenders will be targeted.

“Later in the evening officers moved onto Eastbourne Railway Station where again people were spoken with and challenged on their anti-social behaviour.

“One person was stopped and searched and our colleagues from the rail enforcement team also issued a number of fines for non-payment of fares at the station.“

Eastbourne neighbourhood officer PC Maybank said, “This has been a really worthwhile operation.

“These kind of issues can only ever be resolved by working with our partners to identify offenders, build intelligence and take action to resolve the situation.

“We also know that people involved in county lines drug dealing often use the railway to get around, and so partnership working between local officers, and the BTP helps to share intelligence and seek to reduce offences.”