Figures reveal drop in rail crime

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The number of offences taking place on Scotland's railway network has fallen by 6% in the past year, according to new figures.

The British Transport Police (BTP) said robberies went down by 16%, serious assaults fell by 31% and sexual offences dropped by 15%.

Anti-social behaviour was down 6%, with thefts from passengers down 19%.

However, the past year also brought rises in assaults on staff, hate crime and incidents of graffiti.

Attacks on staff rose from 136 to 150, which police chiefs put down to more rigorous reporting of incidents.

'Zero tolerance'

The force attributed the drop in crime to high-profile policing strategies and the commitment of officers who patrol the rail network.

Supt Ronnie Mellis, BTP area commander in Scotland, said there had been a "change in culture where rail staff are actively encouraged to report any incidents under a zero tolerance campaign against violence or abuse to staff".

Reported incidents of hate crime also rose from 86 to 89.

But the BTP also put this down to increased encouragement for passengers and staff to report all incidents, no matter how minor.

Police said a 59% rise in detected graffiti offences was due to a high number of arrests made during Operation Silverback, which targeted vandals over the Christmas period.

'Reaping the benefits'

The figures for trespassing on railway lines, stone throwing and obstructing trains remained static.

Supt Mellis hailed the overall drop in crime as a success.

He said: "The commitment of our officers is making the rail network safer for passengers and staff.

"These results are due to hard work by our staff and real partnership working with the rail industry with customers and staff now reaping the benefits."

First ScotRail took over Scotland's network in 2004, since when crime has fallen by 27%.