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. It is a 24/7 and 365 days-a-year service, and messages are delivered to the First Contact Centre based in Birmingham. It is used alongside the 0800 40 50 40 phone number which serves the same purpose. It was introduced in 2013, and has had 668,000 texts since 2023, with 225,000 reports in 2025, The service has featured in BTP publicity alongside the slogan "See it. Say it. Sorted." and is used alongside the 999 and 101 numbers for emergency and non-emergency police, respectively.
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.
By 2016, the service had expanded, introducing the "See it. Say it. Sorted." campaign. It 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:
The 61016 number has been highlighted across stations and announcements to help improve public safety.
In 2025, the 'See it. Say it. Sorted.' campaign received its first update ever since it launched in 2016. The upgrade featured new posters and announcements, with the announcements having been rewritten and the wording made sharper. A Network Rail spokesperson said the refresh "will ultimately keep our railway running reliably by encouraging passengers to be our eyes and ears", as well as mentioning how this new change would be rolled in gradually across Great Britain.
Within the first year of its release, the service received over 4,000 messages. 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". As of 2017, the 20:20:10 strategy had been "put to bed"; however, during the 2022âÂÂ2027 period, the British Transport Police Authority is still delivering the "value to money" plan.
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 text service. In March 2023, BTP announced that more than 668,000 texts had been sent to the service in its first ten years. 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.
BTP continues to promote awareness, as victims of sexual harassment have said they were unaware of the service as recently as of 2024. 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."
In 2024, BTP collaborated with Three UK, EE, O2 and Vodafone to make the 61016 service free of charge. This has eliminated barriers to reporting while ensuring that all individuals are able to contact BTP without facing mobile charges. By 2025, reports to the 61016 service had increased to 255,000 per year.
When someone texts 61016, the text is sent to the First Contact Centre in Birmingham and the operators respond. It is also logged for the police to be able to handle at a later time.