• The interdepartmental service for securing public transport in Marseille has 90 agents.

  • They work in civilian clothes or in uniform.

  • Objective: To flag up pickpocketing, or even “catch” wanted individuals.

Present in public transport, station halls or on trains, the agents of the interdepartmental public transport security service (SISTC) are not the most visible police officers.

But they are among those who "bring the most food to colleagues", as we say in the jargon, says Didier Delacolonge, the head of this unit which has 90 men and women working in civilian clothes or in uniform.

Understand, those who bring in front of individuals that colleagues from other departments are looking for.

Like that day, at Saint-Charles station in Marseille.

In just over half an hour, these police officers arrest three individuals who are the subject of a search file.

Two when getting off a train, a third picked up at the exit of the metro, thanks to an identity check.

They were wanted for not having respected their judicial control, a provision which obliges them to report regularly to the police station to ensure that they are not trying to escape a summons to court which awaits them.

The day before, they had their hands on two young girls, suspected of having defenestrated and assaulted a third.

To do this, they increasingly rely on video.

In the mornings, they often memorize the portraits of individuals sought and captured on a video tape.

A game of observation

The suspected accomplice in the murder committed at Notre Dame du Mont station is also the SISTC, with the help of the video.

Anatole, blue eyes and slender silhouette, remembers it.

"I see him go by, same haircut, same gait, I was 100% sure it was him."

A former baccalaureate in the Paris region, Anatole arrived at the service four years ago in Marseille.

He works in civilian clothes, cap, jogging and black hoodie that day.

He varies his appearances depending on the day.

"It's a role-playing game," he comments.

On the platforms, in the metro trains or in the buses, he observes "especially the gestures, the hands, the eyes and the looks".

The objective: to do the flag on pickpocketing.

“With experience, you quickly see people who stink of bullshit, as they say.

And he sometimes follows them for several hours, until he catches them in the act.

“We are a bit like hunters,” he concludes.

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  • Society

  • Marseilles

  • Police

  • Public transport

  • Subway

  • Paca