27.05.15
Over 100 police offers to patrol the Night Tube
More than a hundred police officers will patrol the London Underground network once all-night Tube services start later this year.
Key stations are set to have a permanent presence once the Night Tube starts in September, while mobile teams will travel the lengths of the Northern, Piccadilly, Central, Victoria and Jubilee lines throughout the night, calling at all 144 stations that will be open.
The police officers will be backed up by 13,000 CCTV cameras in tunnels and stations and a network of British Transport Police (BTP) rapid-response vehicles across London that will be in place to attend any incident quickly.
Police community support officers will also be out on the network to assist passengers, and support police officers, as required.
London Underground has also committed to staffing stations at all times.
The plans for Night Tube services have been announced at the same time as new figures that show crime across the Transport for London network is at a record low.
The rate fell by 8.3% in 2014-15 with 2,502 fewer offences and the rate of crime down to seven offences per million passenger journeys.
On the London Underground and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) networks, crime has fallen by a further 12.4% – the ninth consecutive year of reduced crime.
London Overground saw a reduction in crime of 4.9% and on Tramlink services there was a 22.7% reduction.
However while crime overall has fallen, reports of certain types of crime have increased. Reported sexual offences have risen by 34.7% across the network.
TfL attributes this to the Project Guardian initiative, which has raised public awareness of unwanted sexual behaviour and encourages victims to report these historically under-reported crimes.
Mike Brown, MD of London Underground, said: “The Night Tube services are set to transform night time journeys for millions of people across London, boosting jobs and helping maintain London’s status as a vibrant and exciting place to live, work and visit. When we introduce all night services on London Underground, the safety and security of our staff and customers will continue to be our top priority.
“As we have seen crime on the network fall by over 12% in the last year, with our network one of the safest in the world, we will continue to work closely with our policing partners, bringing out more than 100 police officers each night to keep people safe and secure as we make this exciting change to London’s metro services.”
Chief constable of the BTP, Paul Crowther OBE, added: “Our role is to ensure that passengers and staff are not only kept safe and secure, but that they feel safe and secure, whatever time of day or night they are travelling on the network.
“With our specialist skills in railway policing and expertise in operating in this unique environment we are prepared for the challenges and opportunities that the Night Tube will bring.
“We have conducted research at comparable night metro services across the globe to inform our approach and we will have additional officers recruited specifically for the Night Tube services, ensuring they are highly visible and at the right place at the right time.”
(Picture by: Ian Nicholson / PA)
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