Up to 1,030 recorded crimes at New Street Station, Moor Street Station and Snow Hill Stations together
New Street Station is Birmingham’s busiest and biggest stations, and Police.gov.uk recorded 935 crimes within the past year. With a significantly lower crime rate was Moor Street Station with recordings of 58 crimes followed by Snow Hill Station with 37. All these figures are in the period between April 2018 and March 2019.
Public order offences alongside violent and sexual assaults topped the list of crimes at New Street Station with 344 recorded incidents. Other crimes included robbery, shoplifting, drug dealing and possession of weapons. Public order offences and sexual offences also were at the top in both Moor Street Station crimes and Snow Hill Station, presenting a reoccurring issue.
The recorded incidents only represent crimes reported within the train station buildings, and the figures do not include unreported crimes or crimes committed on the streets surrounding the station.
Back in October 2018, Stefan Philip was jailed for 20 months following a brutal attack on a train revenue officer at Snow Hill Station. Phillip left his victim, Mohammed Siddique, with broken ribs and a 5cm hole in his skull and told the courts he was angry that the ticket revenue officer fined him £20 after realising he has not bought a ticket. He then pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and was sentenced to 20 months in jail.
A British Transport Police spokesman has revealed that the force will try to reduce crime rates in these stations by working closely with Network Rail and train operating companies. He stated, “Tackling crime head-on is a top priority for British Transport Police, and we are committed to ensuring that the railway is a hostile environment for criminals to operate.
“During 2017/18 more than 54 million passengers passed through Birmingham’s busiest stations – the overwhelming majority of these journeys were crime free – therefore it is important to remember that it is rare to become a victim of crime on the railway.
“Of course, the force will continue to work closely with Network Rail and train operating companies to improve station security and deny criminals the ability to commit a crime. Project Servator is just one of the highly visible and unpredictable patrols we regularly deploy to disrupt a wide range of criminal activity on Birmingham’s transport network.
“Passengers and rail staff remain the eyes and ears or transport network, and we would urge them to report a crime to us by sending British Transport Police a text to 61016, in an emergency please dial 999.”
Navkiran Bains
