Crime at Cornish Stations not falling in spite of quieter trains

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From Cornwall Live

Quieter trains this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown does not seem to have reduced the amount of crime at some Cornish stations.

Violent crime and antisocial behaviour has doubled at some of Cornwall?s train stations, British Transport Police figures show.

The station with the highest rate of crime per 100,000 passengers between December 2019 and November 2020 was Bugle at 230.31.

With five crimes recorded out of only 2,171 passengers in the 12-month period, the rate of crime roughly halved compared to the previous year - when it was 460.62.

Behind Bugle were Newquay (29.33), Camborne (11.15), Saltash (23.82) and Hayle (1.55).

In the previous year period, Camborne was only at 3.72, and Newquay 6.28.

As the busiest station, Truro recorded the highest number of crimes and incidents of antisocial behaviour - at 25.

Care needs to be taken about reading too much into the relative figures for stations with very low passenger counts, though undoubtedly a quiet station offers an opportunity for certain type of crime, and just like the rest of us, those with a propensity to do something that would be reported have been at and remain at something of a loose end at times at the moment.

I have heard of (and seen the results of) rather more antisocial or worse activity at my own local station in periods between lockdowns than prior to March last year - I suspect this is a UK^▸ (United Kingdom)-wide trend.

[Jamsdad]

In the case of Bugle I suspect the crime is more general ASBO type behaviour, nothing really to do with the station other than its location  on the edge of the village. Truro has had a quite large homeless problem and I suspect the crimes there are more likely to be  in the evening after the ticket barriers get left opened when staff have gone.

[REVUpminster]

Newquay is the drug capital of Cornwall.

When i worked on the Underground the east end of the District Line was known as bandit country. Elm Park was the drug station with the phone in the booking hall ringing every 10 minutes in the evening with customers placing orders. The phone was eventually made for outgoing calls only. Upminster was the shoplifting capital with charity shops the main target, and Upminster Bridge was the flasher's station because of the nearby Catholic girls school where after the nun's stopped teaching the girls skirts got shorter and shorter.

[eightonedee]

I have heard of (and seen the results of) rather more antisocial or worse activity at my own local station in periods between lockdowns than prior to March last year - I suspect this is a UK^▸ (United Kingdom)-wide trend.

At the risk of sounding like an old fogey, I regret to say it was not just railways premises. There was a terrible amount of litter dropped on the countryside, and a wave of vandalism at nature reserves. I am sorry to say it looked very much like teenagers released from lockdown restrictions who were responsible for most of the problems.

Sorry Greta Thunberg - I am afraid the signs that the planet will be looked after better when your generation take charge did not look good last summer, when I took my litter picker up the Thames Path to clear up after them.

[TaplowGreen]

I have heard of (and seen the results of) rather more antisocial or worse activity at my own local station in periods between lockdowns than prior to March last year - I suspect this is a UK^▸ (United Kingdom)-wide trend.

Sorry Greta Thunberg - I am afraid the signs that the planet will be looked after better when your generation take charge did not look good last summer, when I took my litter picker up the Thames Path to clear up after them.

How DARE you! 

[rogerw]

The figures quoted in the press article are rates per 100,000 passengers. Clearly, if passenger numbers halve and the number of crimes is constant the rate will double.  Is this really are serious issue. Comparisons between numbers of crimes would be a better indicator.