West Midlands officer cracks down on anti-social behavior on public transport

A West Midlands transport safety officer has received a major award for his work as a reassuring figure to thousands of commuters on the region’s public transport network.

Mostly based in Walsall, Paul Wheatley’s 1,186 hours last year saw him help more than 6,000 people with a wide range of problems, from directing lost travelers to following up complaints of anti-social behavior .

In 2023, Wheatley issued 875 warnings, with his body-worn camera footage used to identify and prosecute those responsible for a range of offences, including anti-social behaviour, vandalism and assault.

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Now he has won the regional British Security Newcomer of the Year award – and is shortlisted for the national award.

Wheatley said of the award and nomination that “it’s always nice to be recognized in a positive way for a job you enjoy doing, but just as important is the recognition of the Transport Safety Officer role and the role we play all of us every day in helping to make the public transport network a safer place for everyone.”

This is not the first time that he has positively represented his role in public. Last year he was the focus of a Department for Transport (DfT) video which was part of a national campaign in support of White Ribbon, which is the UK’s leading charity involving men and boys to end violence against women and girls.

In addition to regular patrols, he also visited dozens of schools to talk to youngsters about good behavior when traveling, as well as stressing the consequences of bad behaviour.

Paul is part of a team of 12 specially trained Transport Safety Officers (TSOs) who are deployed to deal with low-level nuisance, disorder and anti-social behavior targeting routes and locations based on reports from staff transport or the general public.

This covers everything from buses to trams and commuter trains, as well as the various stations.

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