Police have arrested five people on warrants and fined fare-evaders in a two-day central Geelong bus blitz.
Police, V/Line authorised officers and other authorities issued 40 infringement notices after checking 700 people for correct tickets as part of Operation Moorabool.
Geelong Superintendent Craig Gillard said the operation deterred people from committing offences and caught wanted offenders in a boost to public safety.
“We know that most people who use our public transport network do the right thing. However, we will not tolerate the few who choose break the law,“ Geelong’s top cop said.
Police from the Transit Safety Division commenced Operation Moorabool at 9am on Wednesday before concluding the blitz at 2pm Thursday.
“A great portion of our Geelong community use public transport on a daily basis and have a right to travel without being impacted by the behaviour of others,” Supt Gillard said.
“The Geelong community can be assured we put all of our investigative resources into solving incidents and making arrests.
“(We) urge victims to continue to come forward so we can hold offenders to account.”
Supt Gillard said a highly-visible police presence at public transport hubs across the Geelong reinforced the commitment of police to community safety.
“We recognise the need to focus on transport hubs and will continue to regularly focus our operations on these areas to ensure public safety and reduce crime.”
Operation Moorabool followed a mounted operation in central Geelong that concluded last week.
Mounted police trotted through central Geelong as part of a crackdown on school holiday hooligans.
Operation City-Safe ran across both weeks of the holidays to “address anti-social behaviour”, Victoria Police said.
The operation had a special focus malls and the Moorabool Street bus exchange, police said.
Several members from Geelong Police Station and Victoria Police’s Mounted Branch worked on the operation over the two weeks.
Police urged commuters who witnessed crime or suspicious behaviour to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or to lodge a confidential report at crimestoppersvic.com.au.
