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Metal detectors 'cut knife crime' Crime falls on London transport
(about 8 hours later)
Metal detectors in London's railway stations has helped cut knife-crime by almost two-thirds, British Transport Police (BTP) have said. Crime has fallen 11% on London Underground, figures from British Transport Police (BTP) have shown.
BTP chief constable Ian Johnston said the number of incidents involving knives has fallen to about 20-a-month compared to a high of 70 in mid-2006. The figures also show violent crime is down 4.4% at railways stations in the north of London and has been reduced by 14.2% at stations in the south.
But figures show London's transport system is plagued by robberies. Robberies on the Tube are down 51%, while knife crime on mainline stations has been cut from a mid-2006 peak of about 70 every month, to about 20.
Four out of five robberies on the railways of England an Wales occur in the city. But drug and fraud offences are up on both the Tube and railways.
Mr Johnston's comments came a day after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair's pledge of "bending every sinew" and using every available resource to stem youth violence, which has claimed the lives of 14 teenagers in London since January. Robberies on mainline stations were down but public order offences were also up on stations in the south of London.
'Visual impact' ... it is essential that the Tubes and trains are places where we can all go without the fear of crime Mayor Boris Johnson class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/28_05_08_railway_crime.pdf">Railway crime statistics class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/28_05_08_underground_crime.pdf">Tube crime statistics Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. href="http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html">Download the reader here
Mr Johnston said: "The reason we do not get very much knife crime is that people know they are taking a risk turning up with a knife. The Mayor of London Boris Johnson welcomed the results, saying: "The transport network plays an important role in the lives of millions of Londoners, and it is essential that the Tubes and trains are places where we can all go without the fear of crime.
"Unfortunately many Londoners do not feel as safe as they should do when using the network, which is why we have made tackling transport crime one of our number one priorities."
The drop in knife crime on the railways has been attributed to scanners being deployed at stations.
Senior officers said 244 knife arches and 550 scanners are now in use across London as police try to take potentially lethal weapons off the streets.
No-go zone
BTP chief constable Ian Johnston said the portable units have helped make railways a no-go zone for people carrying knives.
"The reason we do not get very much knife crime is that people know they are taking a risk turning up with a knife.
"The visual impact is important. We give a very clear message that we do not tolerate this."The visual impact is important. We give a very clear message that we do not tolerate this.
"We do not catch people going through the arches with knives. What we catch is a lot of people seeing them and walking away.""We do not catch people going through the arches with knives. What we catch is a lot of people seeing them and walking away."
Describing the rail network as a "low-crime environment" Mr Johnston said "antisocial behaviour and low-level disorder remain a significant problem".
He also stressed on the importance of neighbourhood policing teams near stations which he said has helped reduce anti-social behaviour.
Nation-wide figures for the past year show crime fell by 11% from 79,191 to 70,368 offences with a reduction of 16% in sexual offences, a 11% fall in violent crime, criminal damage cut by 22% and a 46% drop in robberies.
But London stations continue to be targeted by robbers with 704 robberies taking place in the city last year compared to 149 across the rest of England and Wales.
The network also saw a 39% rise in drugs offences.