61016

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61016 is a British Transport Police (BTP) text service for reporting non-emergency incidents on the railway in Great Britain. Launched in 2013, the service allows members of the public to contact BTP via SMS (text message) about suspicious activity, anti-social behaviour, and other non-urgent matters.

Contents

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 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]

An Abellio ScotRail Class 170407 with BTP advertising, showing the 61016 non-emergency number Glasgow Queen Street - Abellio 170407.JPG
An Abellio ScotRail Class 170407 with BTP advertising, showing the 61016 non-emergency number

By 2016, the service had expanded, introducing the "See it. Say it. Sorted". campaign. It has urged 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 61016 number has been highlighted across stations and announcements to help improve public safety. [5]

Efficacy

Within the first year of its release, the service received over 4,000 messages. [6]

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% (also known as 20:20:10), while additionally adding a "value to money". [7] As of now,[ timeframe? ] the 20:20:10 strategy has been "put to bed"; however, in the 2022–2027 period, the British Transport Police Authority is still delivering the "value to money" plan. [8] [9]

In 2022, BTP received 472 reports of sexual harassment, 540 incidents categorised as sexual offences, 573 hate crimes, and 434 reports of theft via the service. [1] In March 2023, BTP announced that more than 668,000 texts had been sent to the service in its first ten years. [10] 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. [11]

BTP continues to promote awareness, as victims of sexual harassment have said they were unaware of the service as recently as of 2024. [12]

A refreshed poster, launched in September 2025, for the 61016 "See it. Say it. Sorted." campaign See-it-say-it-sorted-202509.png
A refreshed poster, launched in September 2025, for the 61016 "See it. Say it. Sorted." campaign

The "See it. Say it. Sorted" campaign has been described as "the most irritating slogan in the history of British transport". [5] Passengers have commented that the station and train announcements were "becoming too frequent and a bit annoying." [5]

In 2024, BTP collaborated with the four major UK mobile networks, being Three UK, EE, O2 and Vodafone to make the 61016 service free of charge. [13] This has eliminated barriers to reporting and ensures that all individuals are able to contact BTP without facing mobile charges. [14] [15] By 2025, reports to the 61016 service had increased to 255,000 per year. [16] [17]

References

  1. 1 2 Collins, Mike (10 March 2023). "The 61016 service celebrates its 10th birthday". Emergency Services Times. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  2. ↑ "Texts to tackle travel crime". ITV News. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  3. ↑ "British Transport Police | TfW". tfw.wales. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  4. ↑ McAllister, Lizzie (27 December 2024). "Brits are only just learning what 'see it, say it, sorted' slogan actually says". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Sweney, Mark (16 September 2025). "'See it. Say it. Sorted' campaign gets refresh – but slogan stays same". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "BTP Performance 2016-17" (PDF). July 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ Auger, Ashley; Chainani, Jai (November 2015). "2016-2017 Policing Plan" (PDF). British Transport Police.
  8. ↑ "Putting 20:20:10 to bed" (PDF). British Transport Police Authority.
  9. ↑ "Strategic Plan 2022–27" (PDF). British Transport Police Authority.
  10. ↑ "British Transport Police marks more than half a million texts on 10th birthday". British Transport Police. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  11. ↑ "London transport: Reported offences against women up 33% - police". BBC News. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  12. ↑ "Sharp rise in reported cases of sexual harassment on London's transport system, police say". ITV News. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  13. ↑ "Text 61016 – Discreet, direct, and now free-of-charge". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  14. ↑ Devonshire, James (26 November 2024). "British Transport Police's 61016 text service now free across all major UK mobile networks". Emergency Services Times. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  15. ↑ "Text BTP on 61016". www.btp.police.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  16. ↑ "See It, Say It, Sorted campaign success" . The Times. 16 September 2025. Archived from the original on 17 September 2025.
  17. ↑ "New look, same message: 'See it. Say it. Sorted'". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
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