Request ID: FOI-3901-2324 Date published: 29 February 2024
You asked
All crime data held by TFL relating to sexual assault and harassment, including:
- Sexual assault and harassment crimes reported directly to the British transport police and MPS pertaining to incidents on all TFL property (I.e. tubes/buses etc)
- Reports of sexual assault and harassment communicated to TFL via social media which has been recorded
- Sexual assault and harassment reports through other sources, e.g. the TFL contact centre
Please limit offences to the past 12 months, from January 2023 to January 2024 inclusive.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-3901-2324
Thank you for your request received on 2 February 2024 asking for information about reports of sexual harassment / assault on our network.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require.
Tackling sexual harassment on public transport has long been a priority for TfL and its policing partners, and concerted action has been undertaken for a number of years. In partnership with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), British Transport Police (BTP), Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and women’s safety groups, TfL launched a campaign to tackle sexual harassment on the transport network in October 2021. The campaign highlights various forms of unwanted sexual behaviour that can take place on public transport and aims to send a strong message to offenders that sexual harassment is not tolerated on TfL’s services, and the importance of reporting incidents of this nature. The campaign was informed by research, including focus groups, the expertise of violence against women and girls (VAWG) campaign groups and the policing sector. Since the launch of the campaign, TfL has seen an increase in reports of sexual harassment offences. October 2021 saw the highest number of reported offences since before the pandemic, and these increased levels of reporting have been sustained. The BTP is now also recording offences such as intrusive staring of a sexual nature and verbal forms of sexual harassment, which they didn’t previously, all contributing to a rise in reporting. Increased reporting can help our policing partners build a profile, which could prevent further incidences occurring. The campaign builds on efforts by TfL and police to tackle unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport through Project Guardian and the award-winning Report it to Stop it communications campaigns - both of which aimed to improve reporting levels and to create an environment on the network that does not tolerate intimidation and sexual harassment. The new campaign posters form part of a joined-up national approach to addressing sexual harassment, featuring a consistent message across TfL's network and the national rail network. The campaign also includes magazine and newspaper advertising, editorial partnerships, and other communications. The materials, which appear on buses and trains and at stops and stations, help educate passengers about how to report incidents, encouraging them to do so wherever possible on the bus network at met.police.uk or, for all other TfL services, to text the BTP on 61016. Alternatively, people can contact Crimestoppers, and should always call 999 in an emergency. We currently publish our six monthly Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour reports as part of the papers for the Customer Service and Operational Performance Panel (CSOPP), which are available on our website:
Unfortunately, to provide the information you have requested would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described.
We have estimated that it would cost over £16,250 to provide a response to your current request. This is because it is estimated that it would take in excess of 650 working hours to retrieve and compile the information you have requested.
This is largely due to the way reports are recorded by our Contact Centre. We have a specific category for ‘sexual harassment’ and ‘assault’, however there are also several other categories where such incidents may have been recorded such as ‘offensive behaviour’ or ‘safety concerns’. Over the requested timeframe there have been over 13,000 possible reports that may be captured by your request. We would need to review each of these in order to determine whether they were relevant to your request. This is in addition to the time it would take to review any reports via social media.
To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking. For example, you may wish to narrow your request to only crimes reported to the British Transport Police and not reports we’ve received via our Contact Centre.
If you want to refine your request or make a FOI Act request in future, please bear in mind that the FOI Act allows you to request recorded information held by us. You should identify the information that you want as clearly and concisely as you can, specifying the types of document that you are looking for. You might also consider limiting your request to a particular period of time, geographical area or specific departments of the organisation.
Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, we do not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request.
Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request.
In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
