Almost 83,000 crimes recorded in a decade, and a fresh £63 million in government funding: the numbers behind the ‘See it. Say it. Sorted.’ campaign now carry real weight for the operators, funders and regulators who run Britain’s railways. New figures released today show passengers have helped the British Transport Police reach that total by texting 61016, as the campaign marks its tenth anniversary.
The economics are substantial. The government is directing an extra £63 million to the British Transport Police over three years, funding more than 200 additional officers, including 36 in a new team dedicated specifically to reducing violence and intimidation against women and girls. That investment sits alongside a £17 million programme to improve CCTV at stations, a capital commitment that touches every train operator and station in England, Scotland and Wales, where the campaign is mandated.
For rail operators, the funding signals a shift in how performance is measured. For the first time, operators are being assessed on their commitments to tackle violence against women and girls, tying commercial contracts more closely to security outcomes. The government frames this as part of its wider work under nationalisation to put passengers at the heart of transport, a structural change that places safety spending and operational accountability in the same hands.
The returns on a decade of investment are visible in the numbers. Since its launch in 2016, more than 1.5 million texts have been exchanged with the British Transport Police, leading to more than 175,000 police deployments across the rail network. More than 200,000 texts are now sent each year, an almost tenfold increase on the volume when the campaign began. The 61016 text service currently receives more than 25,000 messages each month.
Rail Minister Lord Hendy said the government is committed to making the railways safe, and that for a decade the campaign has played a vital role in doing this, supporting the British Transport Police and transforming how people report crimes and issues across the network. Almost 83,000 crimes recorded through the number, he said, are proof that reporting leads to real action, showing the difference passengers can make simply by speaking up.
Meanwhile, the campaign’s reach is reflected in public confidence. Over 60% of people say they feel safer because of visible security measures when travelling, and its status as one of the most visible and widely deployed public safety messages in the country gives operators a consistent, low-cost channel for encouraging reporting. While it began primarily as a counter-terrorism campaign, it has evolved into a way of promoting the 61016 number, giving people another route to report a wide range of crimes and safety issues.
The operational value of that channel was underlined in March 2025, when a passenger on a train to London Euston witnessed a man viewing graphic child abuse material on his phone and discreetly reported it by texting 61016. Officers intercepted the train and arrested the man, who was sentenced to over 2 years in prison. For police and operators alike, the case illustrates how a single text can lead to an arrest, an investigation and a conviction.
British Transport Police Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said that for 10 years the campaign has encouraged passengers to report anything that doesn’t feel right, helping raise awareness of the 61016 text service. She described the free, discreet service as allowing passengers to report crime, suspicious behaviour and sexual harassment directly to the force, enabling swift action to keep people safe and bring offenders to justice. The public, she said, are the eyes and ears on the railway, and their vigilance continues to play a vital role in keeping the network safe.
For operators and market-watchers, the decade of results offers a measure of what sustained public and police investment has delivered, and a benchmark for the £63 million and £17 million now committed to the network’s next phase. Whether the new funding converts into a matching rise in reporting and recorded outcomes will be the test of the campaign’s second decade.