The London Assembly's Police and Crime Committee report found that crime on TfL services in 2025 was up 46% against a pre-pandemic average of 16,544. The rise is deterring passengers: Tricia Hayes of London TravelWatch said seven in 10 Londoners are choosing not to travel due to worries about personal security. Official TfL statistics show passenger journeys fell by 2.4% in the second half of 2025.
Crime trends vary by mode. Between 2023 and 2025, crimes on the Underground rose 12.5%, on the Elizabeth Line rose 60.4%, and on the Overground rose 15%. However, crime dipped on buses, the DLR, and Trams. Overall crime on the TfL network rose almost 8% in the last three years.
Of all public transport crime reports in 2025, 4,593 related to violence against women and girls (VAWG) and 1,724 were hate crime incidents. A suspect was not identified in 58% of VAWG incidents and 66% of hate crime incidents. London TravelWatch estimates as many as 80% of incidents go unreported.
National data shows sharp rises in robbery (up 136% since before the pandemic), theft (up 32%), hate crime (up 30%), and sexual offences (up 17%) on public transport. Harassment cases fell 8%.
Targeted policing shows promise. A University of Cambridge study found short bursts of patrolling at crime-ridden London Underground stations led to a 28% reduction in reported crime. Robbery rates on the railway in London fell by 35% over two years in winter months following targeted police activity.
Sex offences on the railway hit a record high of 2,658 in 2024-25, an increase of almost 10%, according to British Transport Police data. Only 449 cases were solved, and in around half of cases police never identified a suspect. British Transport Police officer numbers fell by 112 in the year to September 2025.