Greater Glasgow

Partnership Approach Pays Off in Summerston

Thirty seven people have been arrested in Summerston since bus operator First, Strathclyde Police and Glasgow City Council joined forces to crack down on bus vandalism. Amongst those arrested was a youth who admitted to 44 separate incidents of vandalism against First’s fleet in Glasgow.

Additional police resources were allocated to the Summerston area after a spate of attacks in early March saw vandalism figures reach record levels. Plain clothes officers and First’s security staff have been travelling on buses on ‘hot spot’ routes and have been following buses in unmarked cars. Environmental scanning and clean up operations have also been taking place in order to remove any debris which could potentially be used as missiles and hot spot areas are being monitored by CCTV cameras.

This campaign is already proving successful. Since the joint exercises began on 4 March, only 6 windows being broken during this period, compared with 80 during January and February alone.

Commenting on this joint operation, Alan Pert, Security Manager at First said:
“These results show that vandals are no longer getting away with this disgusting and anti-social behaviour. Joint operations like the one in Summerston are taking place on a daily basis throughout the City, with a number of arrests being made. I would urge anyone thinking about getting involved in this sort of behaviour to think seriously about the consequences of their actions. It is only a matter of time before they are caught. “

Divisional Commander of ‘C’ Division, David Christie said that Strathclyde Police remains determined to tackle all transport related crime:
“We welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with First and Glasgow City Council.
The success is undoubtedly a result of that close liaison and we will continue to work closely to address this issue."

Cllr Jim Coleman, Chair of the Glasgow Against Vandalism Forum, the multi agency group set up to tackle vandalism in the city, also praised this joint approach. He said:
“This initiative shows the value of partnership working. Lessons can be learned from this and applied in other parts of the city.”

In order to get young people off the streets of Summerston and give them a positive alternative to vandalism and anti-social behaviour, detached youth workers are active in the community and a number of activities for young people have been organised including “First Football”, after school activities which take place in John Paul Academy on a regular basis.

-ends-