The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has welcomed the news that once again the number of crimes on the transport network has fallen.
New figures released by the British Transport Police and the Metropolitan Police Service show that crime on the Underground and Docklands Light Railway went down by seven% and offences on London’s bus network down by four% in the last twelve months.
The figures show that in 2010/11:
- Violent crime against a person offences on the bus network has been cut by 5%
- Public disorder offences on the Tube and DLR are down by 11%
- Vandalism has reduced by 20% for the Tube and DLR, and 12% for buses
- Theft on the bus network is down by 6%
Over the last three years the Mayor and TfL have increased investment in transport safety and security.
Safer Transport Teams have were introduced in all London Boroughs, providing over 400 MPS officers, and a cycle task force of 40 officers has been created.
In addition, the consumption of alcohol on the TfL services has been banned, which has won the support of Londoners wanting to improve their experience of travelling on the Tube and on the bus.
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, said:
“When I became Mayor I pledged to make London’s vast network of public transport safer, and these figures confirm that our laser like focus on reducing crime on the network is having a positive effect.
“The additional investment in safer transport team officers we created and extra British Transport Police officers we provided are doing a great job of helping keep Londoners safe, but we also plan to provide them with some extra support by putting another 413 Police Officers on the transport network next year.”
The reduction in overall bus crime has been largely down to the work done by the TfL-funded Safer Transport Teams in each of the Capital’s boroughs working closely with TfL, through working with community groups and schools, conducting intelligence-led operations and being a visible presence on the network.
On the Tube and DLR, continued improvements in safety and security on trains and stations, as well as TfL’s ongoing, collaborative work with the BTP, have also helped achieve a seven per cent reduction in overall crime.
Despite the overall reductions in crime, small increases in robbery offences have been experienced over the last year.
The numbers are low particularly in context of the ‘billions of journeys made’ on the system each year – an additional 101 offences on the bus network and an additional 24 offences on the Tube and DLR over the year.
TfL say they are not complacent and have measures in place to deal with this such as targeted police operations, CCTV to bring offenders to justice and crime prevention advice to encourage passengers to take extra care of their belongings, particularly expensive electronic items.
Where robbery is an issue certain Safer Transport Teams will address any trends or increases by conducting high-visibility and intelligence led operations to deter offenders.
Another offence that has seen a rise in the past year is theft of railway property, most notably cable theft.
To combat this, officers from the BTP are using various tactics including covert operations and community based intelligence to crack down on those whose actions can disrupt the Tube.
TfL continually works with the BTP on dedicated operations to minimise crime on the Tube and DLR networks and the hundreds of BTP officers who patrol the Tube and DLR network are supported by around 12,000 CCTV cameras in order to minimise any risks to passenger safety and security.
Steve Burton, Director of Community Safety, Enforcement and Policing at TfL, said:
“The transport network is a low crime environment and it is encouraging that the number of crimes has again fallen on the bus and Tube/DLR networks.
“But we are not complacent and will continue to work together with our policing partners to further reduce transport crime in the Capital and keep passengers safe.”
There are now just 10.5 crimes per million passenger journeys on London’s buses, with 11.4 crimes per million passenger journeys on the Tube and DLR as the transport network remains a safe, low crime environment.
