“See it. Say it. Sorted.” campaign refreshed after nearly a decade

Britain’s “See it. Say it. Sorted.” railway security campaign has been refreshed for the first time since it was introduced nearly a decade ago.

Passengers will hear updated announcements and see new posters from Tuesday, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced.

The words of the slogan and the frequency of its broadcast on trains and at stations remain the same, however a range of new audible messages have been created to add variety in response to public feedback, the department said.

The campaign’s refresh provides examples of when something doesn’t look right, such as an unattended bag or a member of the public entering a private area.

Announcements have been updated to make their wording clearer, and there is also more emphasis on the 61016 number for texting reports to British Transport Police (BTP).

The campaign was introduced in November 2016 with a focus on counterterrorism, urging passengers to report anything unusual on the rail network to BTP.

The annual number of messages to the force’s 61016 text service has increased eight-fold to 255,088 since the initiative started.

But rail journalist Tony Miles, of Modern Railways magazine, said passengers treat the slogan like pre-flight safety announcements by airline cabin crew, as “hardly anybody listens”.

He told the PA news agency: “You see people are deliberately looking away now.

“I’ve got a feeling it’s probably washing over a lot of people.

“The general thing is really good, the fact that you can quickly report something.

“But the problem is, I think it’s become a bit wearisome on people, and I don’t know whether they pay attention to it in the way they should.

“Is it said too often? Maybe reducing the frequency would be a thing to start with.”

The DfT said “See it. Say. Sorted.” has become a “cultural phenomenon”, including by “entering everyday vocabulary” and inspiring a musical of the same name.

The Government is also providing a funding boost of nearly £17 million to enable Network Rail to enhance police access to CCTV systems at railway stations.

This will enable officers to have more access to real-time footage.

Rail minister Lord Hendy said: “‘See it. Say it. Sorted.’ isn’t just an earworm that’s been the soundtrack to our trains for nearly a decade now – it’s a really important security and public safety campaign.

“It plays a crucial role in making our railways safe, and this refresh will help spread its message to even more people.”

BTP chief constable Lucy D’Orsi said: “Our officers are out across the railway network 24/7 working to keep the public safe – but ‘See it. Say it. Sorted’ reminds us that passengers and rail staff also have a vital role to play in being our eyes and ears.

“Our pioneering 61016 text service is a simple and discreet way to report crime across the rail network.”

More than one million texts have been sent to the number since it was introduced in 2013.