London’s Lawless Underground: Tube crime soars by shocking 56 PER CENT in a year fuelled by massive surge in pickpocketing – as Sadiq Khan is blasted for capital’s rising crime rate

• Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall hit out at Sadiq Khan’s ‘weak leadership’

Crime on the London Underground has skyrocketed by 56 per cent in a year fuelled by a shocking rise in theft and robberies, worrying figures have revealed. 

The number of crimes between April and September this year on the underground was 10,836, compared with 6,924 in the same period in 2022. 

This included a rise in the number of thefts recorded from 2,935 in 2022 to 5,378 this year. Meanwhile the number of robberies soared from 164 to 340. 

Offensive weapon offences recorded went from 24 to 62, hate crime increased from 422 offences to 553, and violence from 1,203 to 1578. 

According to the latest data from Transport for London (TfL), reported offences are up 30 per cent overall across all services this year. 

Services included in the TfL total are London Overground, London Underground, Trams, DLR, Elizabeth Line, Cable Car and bus.

The figures rose from 17,160 offences within the six months reviewed last year to 22,294 in 2023. 

Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall hit out at Sadiq Khan as she said his ‘weak leadership’ has let crime skyrocket.

According to the latest data from Transport for London (TfL), reported offences are up 30 per cent overall across all services this year

Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall hit out at Sadiq Khan (pictured standing) as she said his ‘weak leadership’ has let crime skyrocket

Crime on the London Underground has skyrocketed by 56 per cent in a year fuelled by a shocking rise in theft and robberies, worrying figures have revealed

Bus related offences rose from 8,980 crimes between April and September 2023 compared with 8,449 crimes during the same period in 2022; six per cent additional recorded crimes. 

Also, a survey showing results from July to September this year revealed that 32 per cent of passengers felt worried on public transport and seven per cent of Londoners were completely or temporarily deterred from using public transport due to a worrying incident.

The most cited worrying incidents on the bus network were overcrowding, drunken passengers, and youth related anti-social behaviour. 

Incidents people worried about most on the underground network were drunken passengers, threatening behaviour or language of others and seeing someone begging.

Women were more likely to come across drunken passengers, whereas men were more likely to encounter youth related anti-social behaviour. 

Sarah Olney, the Lib-Dem MP for Richmond Park, told the Standard: ‘Londoners should be able to feel safe on their public transport, yet these shocking figures tell a different story.

Read more: Will they EVER get the Elizabeth Line into gear? TfL’s troubled year-old line is hit by severe delays again due to train fault at Paddington – sparking travel chaos for commuters

‘This Conservative Government and the Mayor of London need to end their endless bickering, get around the table, and come up with a strategy to tackle this surge in crime.’

A rail union is calling for increased investment on the London Underground to counter a rise in crime.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said a 56 per cent increase in reported crime on the Tube this year was fuelled by a big rise in thefts and robberies.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘These soaring crime rates come as no surprise to Tube workers who are on the frontline every day in this increasingly hostile environment.

‘RMT has been warning for many years that instead of an agenda of austerity and constant cutbacks we need decent staffing levels and investment to ensure a safe and secure transport network for London.’

Bus related offences rose from 8,980 crimes between April and September 2023 compared with 8,449 crimes during the same period in 2022; six per cent additional recorded crimes (stock image)

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London, told MailOnline: ‘Everyone should feel safe on London’s transport network and it is the Mayor’s priority to ensure the transport network remains a safe and low-crime environment. 

‘Working closely with the police, TfL has thousands of police officers and their own enforcement staff patrolling the network every day to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, alongside operations to target offenders. The public transport crime trends in London reflect national trends which are rising due to the lower volumes recorded during the pandemic. 

‘City Hall and TfL have been actively promoting the importance of reporting crimes, especially those that are underreported such as hate crime, sexual offences and harassment and work-related violence and aggression. City Hall and TfL will continue to encourage anyone who witnesses a crime on the transport network to report it, in order to take action against offenders and put measures in place to prevent this happening again.’ 

Siwan Hayward, TfL’s director of security, policing and enforcement, told the Standard they have hundreds of police officers and enforcement staff patrolling the network at all times of the day.

She added: ‘We have also been actively promoting the importance of reporting crime, especially crimes that are underreported such as hate crime, sexual offences and harassment and workplace violence and aggression.

‘Crime on the TfL network largely reflects national crime trends rising from the lower volumes recorded during the pandemic.’

MailOnline has contacted TfL for comment. 

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