The service has featured in BTP publicity, with the slogan "See it. Say it. Sorted." and is used alongside the 999 and 101 numbers for emergency and non-emergency police contact respectively.
The 61016 service was first introduced in 2013. Its purpose is to be able to send a text message to BTP in non-emergency situations rather than calling.[1][2]
Within the first year of its release, the service received over 4,000 messages;[citation needed] by 2016, the service had expanded, introducing the "See it. Say it. Sorted." campaign. It has encouraged passengers to report suspicious behaviour via text message. As part of the new campaign, train companies started playing the campaign slogan in trains and at stations:[3][4]
"If you see something that doesn't look right, speak to staff or text British Transport Police on 61016. We'll sort it. See it. Say it. Sorted."
The campaign was designed to make reporting non-violent crimes more accessible and common,[citation needed] with the 61016 number being highlighted across stations and announcements to improve public safety.[5] In 2022, BTP received 472 reports of sexual harassment, 540 incidents categorised as sexual offences, 573 hate crimes, and 434 reports of theft.[1]
In March 2023, BTP announced that more than 668,000 texts had been sent to the service in its first ten years.[6] In 2023, there were 320 reports of sexual offences and harassment in London by females under the age of 19 – an increase of 33% over the previous year.[7]
In 2024, BTP collaborated with the four major UK mobile networks to make the 61016 service free of charge. This has eliminated barriers to reporting and ensure that all individuals are able to contact BTP without facing mobile charges.[8][9] By 2025, reports to the 61016 service had increased to 255,088 a year.[10][failed verification]
A refreshed poster, launched in September 2025, for the 61016 "See it. Say it. Sorted." campaign
Efficacy
In 2015, BTP aimed for 61016 to reduce crime by 20%, reduce crime related disruption by 20%, and increase staff and passenger confidence by 10%, while additionally adding a "value to money".[11][needs update]
BTP continues to promote awareness, as victims of sexual harassment have said they were unaware of the service as recently as 2024.[12]
The "See it. Say it. Sorted" campaign has been described as "the most irritating slogan in the history of British transport". Passengers have commented that the station and train announcements were "becoming too frequent and a bit annoying."[5]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
