Tube crime plummets with knife scanners at stations

New figures released by British Transport Police show there were 192 robberies on the Tube and DLR last year, compared with 399 the previous year - a fall of 52 per cent. Violent crime was down 11 per cent to 2,215 offences.

There were also falls in virtually every other crime category, apart from fraud and drugs. The number of sex offences fell by 15 per cent, cases of criminal damage were down nearly 30 per cent and the number of thefts - including pickpocketing - was down six per cent. Assaults on staff reduced by 19 per cent.

BTP chief constable Ian Johnston said the reduction in crime was mainly due to the introduction of the airport-style weapon scanners randomly deployed across stations.

He said: "They are effective not because people go through them but because of how people react to them. We find people see them and then turn and walk away. We then step in and invite them to explain why.

"The main thing is that people see the Underground as a slightly dangerous place to go with a knife."

He said the number of knife-enabled offences on the London transport network had fallen from a mid-2006 peak of about 70 a month to about 20 today.

The overall number of offences on the Tube fell by 11 per cent to a total of 16,445 offences in 2007/08. It is the second year running that crime has fallen on the Underground.

Police said a rise in the number of people arrested in possession of drugs was a reflection of greater police activity on the Underground.

Mr Johnston said the fall in robberies was also due to better use of CCTV in identifying offenders. He cited the conviction last year of a six-strong gang led by killers Donnel Carty and Delano Brown who carried out about 70 attacks on Tube passengers over a four-week period. The two teenagers were later jailed for the murder of City lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce near Kensal Green station.

However, there was an increase in the number of fraud offences, mainly involving gangs using credit card skimming machines at bank dispensers at Tube stations. The number of fraud cases rose by 97 to a total of 264, while police recovered more than 50 skimming devices.

Today's annual crime figures show police achieved major success on key south London lines that have been beset with gang problems and steaming offences. The number of robberies on stations and railways in south London fell from 812 in 2006/07 to 382 last year.

In another set of crime figures also released today, Southeastern, the UK's busiest commuter operator, reported that some categories of crime had increased by 68 per cent. Rises in the number of cases of drugs, fraud, public order and the theft of bicycles from stations, marred the overall statistics of a general drop in crime levels.

However, Southeastern reported a significant drop in the number of robberies - down from 629 during 2004/05 to 145 last year; offences involving violence fell from 749 to 570; sexual offences down from 106 to 77 and thefts from passengers dropped from 1,392 to 890.

The company put the success of reducing overall crime down to a closer working arrangement with the BTP, improved CCTV and the use of the company's Railway Enforcement Officers. There are now 60 REOs with bases at Ashford, Chatham, Dartford, Margate and Orpington.