The recent figures from the British Transport Police (BTP) show a rise in the annual number of sexual offenses recorded on London’s Tube Network.
According to the data, in total 909 cases of sexual offenses, excluding rape have been recorded between 1st December 2022 and 30th November 2023, compared to 866 in the previous 12 months.
The data indicates a rise in violent crimes with 3,542 reported incidents, compared to 2,963 in the previous year, while number of robberies rose significantly with 738 cases reported, up from 442 last year.
Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, obtained the BPT figures using the Freedom of Information request, said, “Londoners deserve better” and criticized London’s mayor and the government for engaging in “political bickering” while crime has risen.
She asked leaders “to end their political bickering” and come up with a strategy to tackle the surge in crime on public transport.
“Women deserve to feel safe on public transport, yet these alarming figures risk telling a different story,” said Olney.
Speaking to Standard, a spokesperson for Mayor Sadiq Khan said that the crime rates on the Transport for London (TfL) network are considerably lower than on National Rail services and that crime on the tube network largely reflects national crime trends.
“The safety of women and girls is an absolute priority for the mayor and TfL. It works with the BTP to pursue all sexual harassment offenses using our extensive network of CCTV,” said the spokesperson.
“We encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses incidents to report it to the police or a member of staff,” added.
BTP’s head of crime and public protection, Det Ch Supt Paul Furnell, said, “The public’s safety is our number one priority and our officers are working hard to help deter and detect crime across the rail network.”
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