Drive to cut London bus crime is extended
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson today announced new plans to help cut crime on buses by extending transport policing teams to 30 locations across the capital.
The move follows the introduction on his election in May of three 12-week pilot schemes in West Croydon, Wood Green and Canning Town to tackle bus-related crime affecting passengers.
Launching the roll out today at Bexleyheath Police Station in the London Borough of Bexley, Mr Johnson said: "One of the things that came up time and time again over the campaign, and indeed I've experienced it myself, is the question of people feeling safe on buses and public transport generally.
"I think they have every reason to feel increasingly safer, but there is a problem and it needs to be dealt with. That's why we banned alcohol on the Tube, buses and railways.
"It has proved self-enforcing in the way we said it was going to be, and I'm very pleased about that."
An additional 440 uniformed officers will help establish the new hub teams.
The hub teams will be rolled out in their 27 extra locations throughout London's 32 boroughs from January to June next year.
The £11.3m (€14.38m) cost of the initiative is being primarily financed by Transport for London with the Metropolitan Police Service.
Mr Johnson added: "One of the key things we said we were going to do is to remove money from Transport for London's publicity budget in favour of more policing on the buses."
Showing a renewed faith in official statistics, Mr Johnson said that since the three trial teams began, robberies within those areas had reduced by 37.8%, with overall crime going down by 16% and violent crime by 5.6%.
He said: "I do not believe that there is a plague of out-of-control kids all the way across London who are turning the lives of every single passenger into a nightmare. There is a minority that cause trouble and that minority needs to be effectively deterred."
