Request ID: FOI-2425-2122 Date published: 15 February 2022
You asked
Dear Sir/Madam,
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to know:
How many incidents of all abuse against TfL staff there have been by passengers or members of the public.
If it is possible within the time limit, I would like this data broken down by:
• The tube station/line or bus/tram route/bus stop in which the abusive incident took place
• The nature of the abuse where known (by 'nature of the assault' I mean clarification on whether the incident was physical, verbal, sexual or other)
• And the reason for the abuse (by this I mean, failure to pay, not wearing a mask or another reason recorded)
If you do not record the data by any of the above please share the most similar you do record by.
Please could you break this down by month for January 2021, February 2021, March 2021, and December 2021. If it looks as if the work involved in responding to this FOI is going to exceed the time permitted under the FOIA then please contact me as soon as possible to discuss how I can reduce the scope of this request.
If you have any questions or need further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me.
We answered
TfL Ref: 2425-2122
Thank you for your request received by us on 20 January 2022 asking for information about incidents of abuse against TfL staff.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You asked:
How many incidents of all abuse against TfL staff there have been by passengers or members of the public.
If it is possible within the time limit, I would like this data broken down by:
The tube station/line or bus/tram route/bus stop in which the abusive incident took place
The nature of the abuse where known (by 'nature of the assault' I mean clarification on whether the incident was physical, verbal, sexual or other)
And the reason for the abuse (by this I mean, failure to pay, not wearing a mask or another reason recorded)
If you do not record the data by any of the above please share the most similar you do record by.
Please could you break this down by month for January 2021, February 2021, March 2021,
The information you asked for covering these months is available on our website using the following link to a published response to a previous FOI Request available here:
In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply you with a copy of some of the requested information as it is already accessible to you elsewhere.
As mentioned in our aforementioned response, TfL staff work hard to serve the millions of customers who use the transport network every day and have the right to go about their work without fear or intimidation. TfL takes workplace violence extremely seriously and always encourages staff to report any instance of abuse whether physical or non-physical so that preventative measures can be taken, and the strongest penalties brought against offenders.
A specialist unit within TfL works with both the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and British Transport Police (BTP) to investigate crimes against staff. This Workplace Violence and Aggression (WVA) Team supports staff and their managers, and assists the Police in the investigation of physical assault and verbal aggression against our staff, which can include public order offences and hate crime. Its purpose is to improve the quality of staff assault investigation and provide feedback to police and other criminal justice partners, as well as improve victim care and support provided by TfL.
The objective of this work is to encourage staff to report every incident, and over the last five years the WVA team has proactively engaged with TfL staff across all types of transport to demonstrate the benefits of reporting. We have also rolled out the use of body won cameras - 4,500 body worn cameras for staff have been in operation across the TfL network since the end of 2020 to help reduce workplace violence.
and December 2021.
Please see the attached data for this period. As mentioned in our response to reference number 1791-2122, we do not hold Tramlink data broken down by route. We only hold data on incidents on Tramlink services if they are reported to the BTP, and these do not routinely include the Tram Route number unless it is relevant to the investigation
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Jasmine Howard FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
