Crime on buses

22/09
7 September 2009
MPA briefing paper 22/2009

Author: Chief Inspector Bob Marshall, MPS

This briefing paper has been prepared to inform members and staff. It is not a committee report and no decisions are required.

Summary

1. This briefing note is submitted following a request at Full Authority, to provide members with an update in relation to sexual violence around buses and the night time economy.

Supporting information

1. The total number of reported bus related crimes for the financial year 2008/09 was 27,062 offences representing an overall reduction of approximately 18% on the previous year. Of the total number of crimes, 535 were sexual offences, an increase of 55 on the previous year, representing an 11% rise.

2. A break down of the days for all sexual offences shows the peak day is a Wednesday; however these crimes are fairly evenly distributed over the week. There is not a peak at the weekend for all offences.

3. Almost 50% of all sexual offences on the network occur between 07:00 and 18:59 hours with 30% occurring between 15:00 and 18:59 hours. The majority of these occur during the morning and afternoon peaks, which is consistent with when the highest volumes of passengers are on the network. With regards to night time offences, the peak is between 22:00 and 01:59 accounting for 15.8%.

Peaks

• 1500 - 1859 = 30%
• 0700 - 1059 = 19.2%
• 2200 - 0159 = 15.8%

4. In order to gain a more accurate picture of the relationship between offences and the night time economy, it is important to distinguish between minor and serious sexual assaults. The majority of offences are minor sexual assaults (65.9%) and Indecent Exposure (21.3%), with 57.5% of all incidents only involving ‘Sexual touching over clothes’. In respect of serious sexual assaults (rape) the number of offences for the reporting year 2008/09 was 14 (2.6%) a drop of 2 offences on the previous reporting year.

5. When looking at only serious sexual assaults they do appear to happen later with a peak between 22:00 and 03:59 accounting for 44.1% of the total of these types of offences. These appear to be linked to victims returning from nights out, falling asleep and possibly being more vulnerable due to being under the influence of alcohol. Given the small numbers involved in these types of offences it is not possible to provide any analytical trend in respect of cause.

6. In respect of sanctioned detections analysis shows that 21% of all incidents result in charges being brought against one or more individuals. In respect of the minor offences involving the touching of outside clothing and exposure there is some evidence from the sanctioned detections to suggest there are serial offenders. With the low numbers of serious assaults there is insufficient data from which to draw any conclusion.

7. With regard to the ethnic breakdown of victims, the ethnicity for minor and serious sexual offences for the reporting year 2008/09 show a total of 150 (28%) from a black or ethnic minority background, 374 (70%) white and 13 (2%) as ‘other’. In relation to gender 495 (92%) were female and 40 (8%) were male.

8. The following is a breakdown of all sexual offences on the bus network for the year 2008/09.

Boroughs	Offences
Lambeth	36
Westminster	36
Barnet	31
Hounslow	29
Lewisham	26
Haringey	22
Southwark	21
Camden	20
Croydon	20
Hillingdon	20
Brent	18
Harrow	18
Enfield	17
Greenwich	17
Hackney	15
Wandsworth	15
Ealing	14
Hammersmith & Fulham	14
Tower Hamlets	14
Merton	13
Islington	12
Newham	12
Kingston	11
Richmond	10
Barking & Dagenham	10
Havering	10
Kensington & Chelsea	10
Bromley	9
Redbridge	9
Sutton	9
Waltham Forest	9
Bexley	8

Given the low numbers hotspotting is difficult and can be misleading. This is because hotspots can be influenced by the borough’s size and its distribution of population. An example of this is Barnet which has a high number of offences but does not feature prominently within our hotspots due to its large geographical size and relatively sparse population.

9. In order to increase awareness and reduce the likelihood of serious sexual assaults late at night the MPS is part of the Safer Travel at Night Campaign. Started in October 2002 this is an ongoing awareness campaign in partnership with the Greater London Authority and Transport for London aimed at users of public transport (including night bus services) black cabs and licensed minicabs.

10. In respect of specific police activity the Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU) has a dedicated Cab Enforcement Unit which includes a small dedicated team focusing on the detection and arrest of sex offenders linked to the cab and private hire trade. The unit are intelligence led using tactics such as decoys and surveillance to arrest offenders.

11. TOCU have also established a crime unit whose role is to assist boroughs and Sapphire Units with investigations into sexual offences, robbery and violence occurring on the transport network. TOCU resources such as the Data Retrieval Unit and Task Teams are also utilised to support investigations and arrests offenders.

12. In summary, the majority of offences are of a minor nature mainly during the day and are not linked to the night time economy. However there is a link between the more serious offences and the night time economy, although this should be seen in context given the low number of these types of offences.

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