FOLLOWING the success of Northumbria Police’s ‘Trojan’ bus – a decoy bus where the passengers are plain clothes police officers heading to catch crime in action – a Trojan Metro has now been launched, bringing a similar principle to the tracks.

Previously, the innovative policing tactic involved officers boarding what appeared to be a regular bus service but was in fact a staged service on route to pick up anti-social behaviour (ASB) offenders at bus stops and stations – helping officers make any necessary arrests.

Now the initiative is being rolled out on the Metro lines with its first operation taking place last Friday. What may appear to be a regular train carriage carrying Metro customers is actually also transporting plain clothed police officers, ready to respond to crime and ASB on the move, or helping catch trouble-makers by surprise at stations, interchanges and nearby neighbourhoods.

The Trojan Metro initiative is being funded through Police and Crime Commissioner Susan Dungworth’s Project Shield. 2026 data so far shows that across all the hotspot areas, ASB has fallen by an impressive 24% thanks to high visibility patrols and strong partnership work.

Deployments on the Metro have been determined by hotspot data and focus on routes connecting areas where members of the public have repeatedly raised concerns.

During the first Trojan Metro operation on Friday, 1,000 people passed through knife arches at stations, while police engaged with over 200 people and businesses about the operation. Officers made six arrests of individuals on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, breach of bail and failing to appear before court. Investigations are ongoing around other recorded crimes for public order offences, assault and possession of cannabis.

Project Shield is a partnership covering joint activity from police and partners working to help deliver safer streets and stronger communities. It involves greater police and partner patrols in hotspot areas, effective resource targeting led by data, and community engagement and prevention activities, including working with youth services.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commission, Susan Dungworth, said: “Opportunistic thieves, antisocial groups, harassment – these – or the fear of these, can put people off from catching a bus or a Metro – it can hold people back.

“And so, I want to make sure we are doing all we can to help people feel safe and comfortable on our public transport. I hope hearing about work like this helps deter criminals and increases passenger confidence.

“We often talk about people wanting high visibility policing but this approach brings its own benefits too by allowing officers to identify offences as they happen and intervene quickly.

“Through Project Shield, we’ve been trying a range of methods to catch offenders and reduce crime. The Trojan Metro is another great example of our joint efforts responding to concerns and helping people feel safe as they go about their lives.”

Chief Inspector Phil Baker, of Northumbria Police, said: “Passengers should feel secure when it comes to travelling on the wider transport network and between bus stops, stations and hubs.

“Policing in this way through Project Shield gives us a unique opportunity to identify those behaving in an anti-social or criminal way in real time – so that along with our partners Nexus we can disrupt offenders swiftly and take the appropriate action against those involved.

“It’s not just about ASB though. Officers deployed on the Trojan Metro are also trained to safeguard those in need such as missing people, those who may have mental health issues as well as suspects we believe may be involved in County Lines drug-dealing criminality.

“It also assists with our ongoing commitment to tackling violence against women and girls.

“Ultimately, we are using the Trojan Metro as a way to fight crime as it is happening so that we can prevent further disorder – ensuring that all passengers and residents feel safe when using public transport.

“Together with our partners, we will continue to use every tactic at our disposal to prevent and disrupt crime and keep our region among the safest places to live in the country.”

Transport operator Nexus says they’ve been investing heavily into tackling ASB and crime, and have seen positive results which they hope the Trojan Metro initiative can help boost. This additional resource will help achieve their primary objective of a safe and secure network for their customers and employees and hope deploying specialist police in a plain clothes capacity will help deter anyone thinking of offending on Metro.

Cathy Massarella, Managing Director of Nexus, said: “Special policing operations like this are absolutely essential for keeping the Tyne and Wear Metro system safe and secure for our customers.

“It’s a unique way to target crime and anti-social behaviour in and around Metro. It sends out a clear message that anyone who causes trouble on our transport system will get caught and will face prosecution.

“Plain clothed policing and high visibility patrols are key elements of Project Shield in partnership with Northumbria Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner, delivering safer streets and stronger communities. Tackling violence and intimidation against women and girls in particular is a vital focus.

“We take this very seriously. Metro is a safe system to travel on, and where issues do occur, we work closely with the police to deal with it.

“This builds on the work we have already done to improve safety and security on Metro, including the introduction of our dedicated security teams, investment in new CCTV, and the ongoing roll out of our new train fleet.”