Thursday, April 18

Sex attacks on Tube up by 42 percent


 

 

The number of sexual assaults reported on the Tube have soared by 42 percent in the past four years, new figures show.

Attacks on the Underground recorded by the British Transport Police (BTP) rose from 844 to 1,206, according to Mayor of London statistics.

The BTP said it expected a rise in reports following a drive to encourage victims to report unwanted sexual behaviour.

But campaigners argue incidents are still under-reported and more needs to be done to stop attackers before they strike.

The figures revealed there had been 138 sexual assaults on the Night Tube since it began in August 2016, with 62 in the past year.

The Central line, which does not have CCTV cameras on its trains, saw the most recorded assaults with 1,054.
This was followed by 645 on the Victoria line, 601 on the Northern line and 547 on the Jubilee line.

In response, Transport for London (TfL)’s director of policing Siwan Hayward said: More undercover patrols take place on the Central line than any other line and a programme of work is under way to install CCTV on the line as quickly as possible from 2020.

A campaign launched by police and TfL called Report It To Stop It aims to encourage anyone who experiences unwanted sexual advances on public transport to come forward.