People do not feel safe at Swindon bus station, say police

Police officers were in the town centre on Wednesday to hear the concerns of passengers and visitors to the town centre in the wake of a series of incidents.

The bus station is due to be torn down once the £33m transformation of nearby Fleming Way is complete.

But in the meantime, it is a magnet for crime and anti-social behaviour.

The main problems raised with officers at a pop-up event at the station were street drinking and loitering.

PC Thapa told the Adver: “At night they do not feel safe, the bus station is not a very friendly environment as well.

“We are increasing our patrols in the town centre based on demand. In the last four weeks, we have had loads of incidents here and this is one of the reasons we are doing this pop-up event to see people's views and engage with the community and have a visible presence. 

“We are doing visible patrols as much as we can.”

(Image: Dave Cox)

She said people has asked for more lighting and more police presence.

“They appreciate what we are doing but at the same time, they want more police presence," said PC Thapa

READ MORE: Swindon bus station toilets 'stop people from visiting town'

(Image: Dave Cox)

“We are aware of these problems as well. We are here so we can prioritise our goals and see how people feel, take into account how safe people feel and then see how to resolve it.”

READ MORE: Swindon criminal stood on woman's head in bus station attack

According to her sergeant, the number of issues in the town centre area is reducing, thanks to more officer presence.

“We are trying our best and we will work with the public”, she said. 

“Through these public events, we get more ideas of what people are thinking and that should help us to focus where we should go and how we should tackle these issues.”(Image: Newsquest)

The long-awaited 'bus boulevard' on Fleming Way is a cause of excitement for PC Thapa, who believes that the nicer environment compared with the existing facility will reduce anti-social behaviour.

“Hopefully that should work as well with deterring the ASB people because it will be really nice”, she explained.

Work on the 'bus boulevard', which will replace the bus station in the town centre, began in September 2022 and is due to be completed by autumn 2025.

Until then the bus station has been the subject of complaints, with frustration at the irregular opening hours of the toilets inconveniencing travellers as well as recent violent crimes.

In June one man stood on a woman’s head until she lost consciousness in the station and fined over £800.