County bucks trend for reported railway station sex crimes

FIGURES obtained by Sexual Abuse Compensation Advice found that, since 2022, there has been a drop in reported sex crimes at railway stations across Surrey.

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Yet the British Transport Police's (BTP) 2024 annual report shows, nationally, there has been a 10% rise in recorded sexual offences against women on railways from the previous year, up from 2,246 to 2,475. A survey of 2,000 people commissioned by the BTP last year also found more than a third of women had been a victim of sexual harassment or sexual offending on their commute.

Despite this, a large number of women do not report their experiences, as many feel scared or believe their experience will not be taken seriously.

BTP Detective Chief Inspector Nia Mellor, said: “Tackling sexual offences is our top priority at British Transport Police and we take every report of sexual harassment or violence extremely seriously.

“We know that these crimes commonly go under-reported, which is why we relentlessly campaign to encourage witnesses and victims to report these offences to us. With this, we expect the number of reports to continue to rise.