The
number
of
crimes


committed
on
London
Underground
rose
by
more
than
a
third
in
the
six
months
from
April
to
September
this
year,
pushing
the
crime
rate
for
each
million
passengers
up
from
13.7
to
18.6.

The
RMT
has
called
for
an
end
to
‘austerity’
measures
which
can
potentially
reduce
the
deployment
of
staff
on
duty.

Transport
for
London
has
reported
that
although
crime
has
risen,
passenger
numbers
are
down
by
11
per
cent.
There
is
particular
concern
about
thefts
and
robberies,
because
thefts
were
up
by
83
per
cent
and
robberies
by
107
per
cent.
Almost
two
thirds
of
thefts
took
place
on
trains,
at
61
per
cent,
while
the
rest
were
on
stations.

The
worst
stations
for
thefts
were
all
busy
interchanges
in
central
London
–
King’s
Cross
St
Pancras,
Leicester
Square
and
Oxford 
Circus.

RMT
general
secretary
Mick
Lynch
said:
‘These
soaring
crime
rates
come
as
no
surprise
to
tube
workers
that
are
on
the
front
line
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.’

Meanwhile,
the
RMT
has
discovered
that
one
in
three
of
its
female
members
working
for
ScotRail
have
been
sexually
harassed
in
the
course
of
their
job,
following
a
new
survey.

The
union
said
more
than
80
per
cent
of
the
respondents
revealed
they
had
not
reported
the
incident,
with
most
saying
they
felt
they
would
not
be
taken
seriously.
More
than
half
also
said
they
had
witnessed
female
passengers
becoming
the
victims
of
sexual
harassment
over
the
past
year.