A man from Tyne & Wear has been issued with a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) that bans him for 18 months from all train services operated by Northern.
At Newcastle Magistrates Court on Friday, 2 February, Joseph Bramley of Ryton, was issued with the Criminal Behaviour Order after he had committed a string of offences over a two-year period.
These included repeated fare evasion, verbal threats of a racist nature and threats of physical violence towards members of the train crew, and causing damage to train carriages.
The Criminal Behaviour Order prohibits Bramley from travelling on any train operated by Northern as well as entering any station premises that are managed by them.
Among the stations covered by the ban are all railway stations on the Tyne Valley line between Newcastle & Carlisle, including Metro Centre, Blaydon, Wylam, Prudhoe, Stocksfield, Riding Mill, Corbridge, Hexham, Haydon Bridge, Bardon Mill, Haltwhistle, Brampton, and Wetheral.
Securing the Criminal Behaviour Order was achieved through the use of body-worn camera footage that was shown in court.
Northen recently invested 1.7m to roll out over 1,000 body-worn camera units to colleagues across its network to increase the total number in operation to 1,300.
To supplement the body-worn cameras, Northern has invested in high-definition CCTV onboard its trains.
Those images can be monitored in real-time by British Transport Police, with the cameras using the ‘what3words' system to identify the exact location of suspicious activity.
The footage and geographical data will be supplied to the police to assist with any criminal prosecutions.
If anyone witnesses anti-social behaviour or other criminal activity on the railway, they can contact British Transport Police by text on 61016 by calling 0800 40 50 40, or by using the British Transport Police Railway Guardian app.
That is available to download from Google Play and the Apple App Store and is an all-in-one safety app which allows users to report crimes or concerns on the rail network, share journeys with trusted contacts, and get access to news, guides, and support.
Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said: “This particular individual has plagued the Tyne Valley route with persistent anti-social behaviour.
“It was through the use of body-worn camera footage that we were able to evidence his actions in court and we welcome the CBO that the Court has handed down.
“We hope this case will act as a deterrent to others who think it is acceptable to behave this way towards fellow customers, our colleagues and our property and that body-worn cameras can and will capture their behaviour and the footage will be used against them in court.”
