Plain-clothes police and TfL staff stopped 467 people and made 24 arrests in Operation Vector's first month. What it means at Romford, Upminster and Hornchurch.

Anyone in Havering who rides the Elizabeth line from Romford, Gidea Park or Harold Wood, the District line from Upminster, Hornchurch or Elm Park, the Overground shuttle between Romford and Upminster, or the red buses without paying is the target of a new Transport for London (TfL) operation with the British Transport Police (BTP). On Tuesday 3 November TfL published the results of its first month. Operation Vector, which TfL says launched last month, has so far led to:

  • 467 people stopped
  • 156 penalty fares issued
  • 175 reports for possible prosecution
  • 24 arrests by BTP officers, for offences including fare evasion “and wider criminality”

TfL has not said which stations the teams have worked at, and its announcement gives no figures for Havering. The operation covers the whole TfL network, and TfL says checks are concentrated at major transport hubs. For commuters from Romford that means the Elizabeth line into Stratford and Liverpool Street as much as the gatelines at home.

How it works

The operation puts plain-clothes BTP officers alongside TfL’s Revenue Control teams and its uniformed Transport Support Enforcement staff. TfL calls it “intelligence-led”: the teams pick out persistent offenders who “routinely push through ticket barriers”, and officers are posted beyond the gateline, using coordinated communications to track and stop people trying to travel without paying.

The aim, TfL says, is uncertainty. If nobody knows where or when the teams will be working, it expects fewer people to take the chance, and it wants the operation to “challenge the perception that people can push through barriers without consequences”.

What TfL and the police said

Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor of London for Transport, said: “Fare evasion is a criminal offence and prevents essential funds being reinvested to improve our transport network. We have a clear message for the small but persistent group of people that aren’t paying the correct fare: we will not tolerate it, and you will be held to account.

“It’s great to see our targeted enforcement work already having such positive results, supporting our wider fare evasion crackdown across the network with cutting-edge technology and intelligence-led policing. The Mayor and I will continue to support TfL in protecting these vital funds as we build a fairer, safer, better London for everyone.”

Siwan Hayward, TfL’s Director of Security, Policing and Enforcement, said: “The vast majority of our customers pay the correct fare, and it is only right that those who deliberately avoid paying are identified and held to account. Fare evasion and gate pushing creates an intimidating atmosphere for our staff and customers, and is something we are determined to tackle.

“In its first month, Operation Vector has already delivered promising results, demonstrating the value of a targeted, intelligence-led approach. By bringing together plain-clothes police officers, Revenue Control teams and our uniformed enforcement officers, we are making it harder for repeat offenders to evade detection and helping to challenge the perception that fare evasion can take place without consequences.”

BTP Chief Inspector Daniel Rushall linked fare dodging to more serious crime. “We know there are several reasons why people choose to fare evade and one of those is due to their links to more serious criminality,” he said.

“In its first month, this operation has already provided us with valuable opportunities to identify and apprehend criminals and high harm offenders using London’s transport network, including the seizure of weapons and drugs.

“This is just one of many operations and strategies we have in place across the rail network to disrupt criminality. You may not realise we are there because of the nature in which we conduct some of these operations, but we are determined to hunt out criminals blighting our network, which in turn is making it a safer place, both for staff and the public.”

TfL says working with BTP will also build up intelligence on the links between fare evasion and other crime, so that it and the police can put resources where they have most effect.

The bigger numbers

Operation Vector sits on top of TfL’s routine enforcement, which it sends to places where people most often force their way through the barriers. Tactics change regularly and include checks at gatelines, on board services and inside stations. Since April 2026, according to TfL:

  • more than 2,400 people have been reported for barrier misuse
  • revenue enforcement teams have issued more than 33,000 penalty fares
  • more than 11,000 people have been reported for prosecution consideration

The crackdown is part of the fare evasion strategy TfL launched in April 2025, which aims to halve fare evasion to 1.5 per cent or less by 2030/31. That plan brought in wider investigations into repeat offenders, stronger enforcement and data tools to spot patterns of evasion.

What it means for you

  • Touch in and out every time on the Elizabeth line, the District line and the Romford to Upminster Overground. TfL says checks happen at gatelines, on board and inside stations, and plain-clothes officers may be working out of sight.
  • On the buses, the checks TfL describes include on board services, so routes through Romford, Hornchurch, Harold Hill and Collier Row fall under the same enforcement.
  • Journey times and fares from Romford into central London are on our Romford trains to London page.

The figures above come from TfL’s announcement of 3 November 2026; more TfL news is on the TfL press centre.