More than 2,000 sexual offences on trains last year as police give vital update
More than 2,000 sexual offences were reported on the rail network last year, grim figures show.
Some 2,336 sexual offences were committed on trains across the country in the 12 months between December 2022 and November 2023, according to a Freedom of Information request to the British Transport Police (BTP). The data, compiled by the Liberal Democrats, showed that 13,632 violent incidents and 1,863 robberies also occurred on trains over the same period.
More than a third of women have been victims of sexual harassment or sexual offences while commuting by train or tube, a survey by BTP found at the end of last year. Last month BTP launched a campaign urging rail passengers to report sexual harassment and assault.
The Your Piece of the Puzzle campaign uses the words of real victims whose information led to a serial sex offender being apprehended. It emphasises the importance of all reports from the public in piecing together the profile of an offender. “Their moving accounts of their experiences highlight how, despite experiencing them separately, they weren’t alone and together through reporting to BTP, they ensured a serial sex offender was jailed,” BTP said.
Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney said: “Women deserve to feel safe on public transport, yet these alarming figures risk telling a different story. Rather than making sick jokes on the subject, the Home Secretary must do his job and produce a strategy to tackle this surge in sexual offences.” Her party is calling for a return to local community policing across the country, in an effort to reduce.
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Head of Crime and Public Protection at the BTP, T/Detective Chief Superintendent Sarah White, said: “Tackling sexual offences is a key priority for us as a force and we have dedicated taskforces and specialist teams to detect and investigate sexual offences and harassment.
"We know that these crimes commonly go under-reported. Disrupting and deterring robbery and violence across the network is also a significant priority for BTP. We use a variety of tactics to ensure journeys stay safe including uniform and plain clothes patrols, thousands of CCTV cameras, and intelligence driven policing.”
Speaking about BTP's campaign, temporary Assistant Chief Constable Paul Furnell said: “Every piece of information we receive, whether it’s from a victim themselves or from a bystander can play a part in a wider investigation against an individual. They may have made a sexual remark to you on the train, but the day before they could have sexually assaulted someone else. Your information may be the missing piece which leads us to identify the offender and secure justice for all their victims."
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