More report sex offences on Tube

RAPE CRISIS SAYS REPORTED FIGURES ONLY ‘SCRATCH THE SURFACE OF THE SCALE’

MORE than 1,600 people reported having been the victim of a sex assault on London’s Tube lines over a threeyear period, but only 241 cases resulted in a formal charge, new statistics have revealed.

Nearly 450 passengers travelling on the Central Line made a sexual assault complaint to police between 2014 and 2016, making it the route with the highest number of reported incidents.

During the same period, 254 people reported being sexually assaulted on the Victoria Line, while 209 reports were received in relation to the Jubilee Line.

An additional 241 reports were made across the three-year period on other London railway lines, including the Overground, Tramlink, Transport for London (TfL) Rail and Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

British Transport Police (BTP) said “tackling all forms of unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport is a priority” for the force.

However, according to Rape Crisis, the figures “only scratch the surface of the scale of sexual offences” as less than 15% of those who experience sexual violence choose to report it.

Across 2014 to 2016, BTP received 1,604 reports of sexual assault on London’s Tube lines, two of which were reports of rape.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by Get West London shows that seven out of 11 Tube lines saw a rise in reports over the three years.

Detective Chief Inspector Darren Malpas said: “When the ‘Report It To Stop It’ campaign launched, we fully expected to record a rise in sexual offences and, though it is clearly a concern that so many people are affected by this type of crime, it is pleasing that previously reluctant victims of sexual offences now have the confidence to report this to us.

“Tackling all forms of unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport is a priority for British Transport Police and we have worked hard in recent years to send a clear message to victims that they will be taken seriously and we will investigate offences.

“We believe that unwanted sexual behaviour is something that largely goes unreported, which is why we worked with Transport for London, City of London Police and Metropolitan Police to launch the ‘Report it to stop it’ campaign.

“This is a national campaign encouraging women – and men – to report unwanted sexual behaviour they experience on public transport.”

Tackling all forms of unwanted sexual behaviour is a priority for British Transport Police