Violent incidents on the London Underground have risen by 75 per cent in the past two years, British Transport Police data has shown.
The force recorded 3,542 incidents in the 12 month period up to October 31, 2023, compared to 2,029 in the previous period.
Sarah Olney, Lib Dem MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston, obtained the figures via a freedom of information request.
She told The Sun: “Violent crime is becoming a much bigger anxiety for my constituents.
"That has to do with falling numbers of police officers on the streets and not being able to get hold of them.
“The Government and the Mayor of London cannot stand by and let this happen.”
Previously reported figures suggest 10,836 (total) offences were committed on the Tube between April and September last year, compared with 6,294 in the same period in 2022.
Items prized by criminals include Canada Goose coats, which can be worth more than £1,000, as well as Apple AirPods and smartphones.
On Saturday, Standard columnist Joe Bromley wrote of the anxiety of now wearing a luxury coat on the Underground.
“That, unfortunately, is me out cold turkey of the smart coat race,” he said. “Unmarked Uniqlo only from now on. What’s the alternative? The self-inflicted daily trauma of sitting on the Northern line.”
The FOI figures obtained by Ms Olney also showed robberies were up 182 per cent, from 261 to 736.
A Transport for London statement read: “The safety of our customers and staff is our top priority and working closely with the police. We have more than 2,500 police and police community support officers and 500 TfL enforcement staff patrolling the network at all times of the day to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, alongside operations to target offenders and hotspot locations. All stations are staffed from first train until last train and we have more than 4,500 station colleagues available across the network to assist customers and keep them safe.
“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. We encourage anyone who witnesses a crime on the transport network to report it, so we can take action against offenders and put measures in place to prevent this happening again. Crime on the TfL network largely reflects national crime trends rising from the lower volumes recorded during the pandemic. We will continue to work closely with the police to ensure that our transport network remain a safe environment to work and travel.”
