Weapon-related incidents on public transport in Britain increase by nearly half in just three years 


‘Alarming’ crime rise on Britain’s public transport with knife and weapon-related incidents up by nearly half in just three years

  • Incidents involving weapons on public transport up by almost half in three years
  • British Transport Police recorded 5,000 cases of offensive weapons since 2017
  • It comes as Britain’s knife crime epidemic has officially reached a record high

Incidents on public transport involving knives and other weapons have increased by nearly half in three years, figures show.

British Transport Police have recorded 5,000 cases involving offensive weapons since 2017.

It comes as official figures revealed that knife crime offences in England and Wales are at a ten-year high.

The figures reveal that there were 1,840 incidents involving weapons on public transport in 2019, up from 1,268 in 2017. In 2018, there were 2,065 recorded. A stock image is used above [File photo]

Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Christine Jardine has written to Home Secretary Priti Patel to call for more community policing and youth services.

The MP said she had ‘deep concern’ about the ‘alarming figures’, which were uncovered by Freedom of Information requests to the British Transport Police.

The figures reveal that there were 1,840 incidents involving weapons on public transport in 2019, up from 1,268 in 2017. In 2018, there were 2,065 recorded.

Miss Jardine said: ‘These alarming figures show the utter failure of Tory ministers to keep people safe from crimes involving offensive weapons, especially knives.

‘The country is in the grip of an epidemic of serious violence, and we urgently need real solutions.’

Separate figures earlier this year revealed that Britain’s knife crime epidemic has reached a record high, with an average of 123 offences every day last year – almost 45,000 in total.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We are taking action to tackle the scourge of serious violence whenever and wherever it occurs.’

Incidents on public transport involving knives and other weapons have increased by nearly half in three years, figures show. British Transport Police have recorded 5,000 cases involving offensive weapons since 2017 [File photo]

Incidents on public transport involving knives and other weapons have increased by nearly half in three years, figures show. British Transport Police have recorded 5,000 cases involving offensive weapons since 2017 [File photo]