Crime rises at local Underground stations

Overground stations shown to be much safer

New figures from the British Transport Police show that, whilst crime is rare at local stations, there has been a sharp rise in offences at local Underground stations.

At Brentford station a total of just 8 offences were recorded between January and August 2004. None of these involved violence or the threat of violence. There was a similar story at Syon Lane, which has seen just 5 offences, four of which concern trespass onto the railway line.

Figurea are higher at local Underground stations. There were 34 recorded offences at Northfields over the first eight months of 2004, a 100% increase compared to the same period in 2003. 11 of theses offences involved public order, violence or weapons offences. At South Ealing there were 45 recorded offences, compared with 24 in 2003. 16 of the 2004 offences were for fraud - Travelcard re-sellers are a common site in the evenings at South Ealing and transport police frequently arrive to crack down on this practice.

10 Oct 2004