News 16 August 2016
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Author: Marisa Lee

Sex Crimes and violence have massively increased on the Underground

Author Marisa Lee
16 August 2016
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New data has revealed that passengers on the London Underground have unfortunately suffered a 41 per cent increase in violent crimes in the past year.

According to the Evening Standard, in the first six months of 2016, 1,961 violent crimes were recorded accross the Underground system, compared to 1,389 violent crimes in the first six months of 2015. Of these crimes, sexual assaults rose by 40 per cent from 328 reported incidents to 460.

A spokesperson from the British Transport Police said they weren’t surprised by the increase in reported crimes as they launched a campaign titled “report it to stop it” to raise awareness of sexual assault on the network. The successful campaign gives passengers a number to call or text if they experience or see a crime.

The new figures show that over January and June this year there were more incidents reported on the Central Line than any other line, though it is the busiest line.

British Transport Police Chief Superintendent Martin Fry told the Evening Standard, “It is disappointing to see that after 11 years of reductions in crime that there was an increase last year. However, this must be seen in the context that during 2015/16, passenger journeys increased by more than two million, bringing the total number of passenger journeys up to more than 11 million per day.”

“In 2005/2006, there were more than 18 crimes per million customer journeys in 2005/6 and that is now down to just 7.3 – meaning the chances of becoming a victim of crime on London’s rail network are extremely low. This does not mean we are complacent, each crime is one crime too many.”

We’re hoping the increase doesn’t carry over to the night tube, which launches this weekend.