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.
History
The 61016 service was first introduced in 2013. Its purpose is to be able to send a text message to BTP, instead of having to call, in non-emergency situations.[1][2]
Within the first year of its release, the service received over 4,000 messages; by 2016, the service had expanded, introducing the "See it. Say it. Sorted." campaign. The campaign 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][5]
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 nonviolent crimes more accessible and common, with the 61016 number bring highlighted across stations and announcements to improve public safety.[6] 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.[7] In 2023, reports of sexual offences and sexual harassment in London increased by 33% over the previous year, which prompted BTP to encourage more girls and young women to report incidents.[8]
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 BPT without facing mobile charges.[9][10]
By 2025, reports to the 61016 service had increased to 255,088 a year.[11]
A refreshed poster, launched in September 2025, for the 61016 "See it. Say it. Sorted." campaign
Effectiveness
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."[6]
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