Crime on London's public transport network falls

Crime on London's public transport network fell last year, new figures show.

The number of crime incidents on the Tube and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) totalled 12,115 in 2011/12 - a 10.1% reduction on 2010/11.

There were 21,724 crime incidents on buses in London in 2011/12. This was 9.4% fewer than in 2010/11 and the lowest figure for eight years.

On the Tube and DLR nearly all categories of crime fell in 2011/12, but sexual offences rose 15.3% and there were 960 instances of drug offences - 32% more than in 2010/11.

The biggest fall in Tube/DLR crime was in criminal damage, with 30.8% fewer instances in 2011/12.

Robbery (up 4.3%) was the only category of crime on the buses that increased in 2011/12. Instances of violence against the person dipped 14.1%.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said today: "With more officers on the network, and targeted police operations, my teams have worked tirelessly to crack down on crime on our transport system, and to keep it down while passenger numbers soar.

"Nevertheless, we are not complacent and, while these figures are encouraging, more can be done and we will not relent from our focus on making stations safer, ensuring uniformed officers are highly visible on public transport and curbing anti-social behaviour."

PA