"We will not tolerate any form of abuse against our staff who have the right to carry out their work duties without fear"
Aidan Harris
London Underground Manager of the Workplace Violence Unit

Strong collaboration between London Underground's (LU's) Network Enforcement Department and the British Transport Police has resulted in a three year anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) against a prolific offender who repeatedly fare evaded and caused harassment, alarm and distress to staff at Gants Hill station throughout 2013.  

Naimul Hoque,  aged 21, from Ilford, was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court, on Wednesday 23 April, to 11 months jail for affray and assault on a Police Constable and given a further one-month jail term for common assault and fare evasion.

These sentences were suspended for 18 months and he was given a six-month curfew order - between 8pm and 6am - and ordered to undergo supervised treatment for alcohol. He was also given a three-year ASBO, banning him from all London Underground stations unless he is in possession of a valid ticket.

The ASBO also bans him from all LU stations when he is under the influence of alcohol.  

Hoque was arrested on Thursday 5 September 2013, after he entered Gants Hill station and approached a Customer Service Adviser at the gate-line, who had his back turned at the time.

Hoque then viciously poked the member of staff inthe back before pushing through the ticket gates to go down to the platforms.

The matter was reported to the British Transport Police and Hoque pleaded guilty to common assault and fare evasion at Romford Magistrates' Court in December.

He was later sentenced for these offences and for entirely separate offences of affray and assault on a police constable, at Snaresbrook Crown Court.  

Hoque caused such a nuisance at Gants Hill station during 2013 that LU's enforcement team gathered 91 separate statements from LU staff witnesses about his behaviour.

These statements were then passed on to the British Transport Police to enable them to secure the ASBO.  

Aidan Harris, London Underground Manager of the Workplace Violence Unit, said:

"We will not tolerate any form of abuse against our staff who have the right to carry out their work duties without fear. Hoque was a constant threat to our staff, exposing them to over nine-months of abuse. We welcome the result of his sentencing and hope this sends out a clear message that we will continue to work closely with our policing partners to provide a safe working environment for staff and our customers."  

TfL will be re-launching their marketing poster campaign on workplace violence and the damage it can cause across the transport network this month. This will focus on reducing abuse to staff by encouraging customers to think more about some of their behaviours.

  • London Underground's Network Enforcement Department comprises of Revenue Control, Revenue Prosecutions, Tactical Deployment and the Stations Requirements Team. They provide reassurance to customers, staff and tenants who are affected by anti-social behaviour. The team also enforce TfL's Zip Card behaviour policy, work with the British Transport Police in order to obtain anti-social behaviour orders and undertake their own prosecutions for persistent nuisance offenders at stations
  • Across the transport network, there are more than 2,500 police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) who, along with the deployment of more than 12,000 CCTV cameras on the Tube and CCTV on all London Buses, have helped to secure successful convictions against around 90 per cent of offenders taken to court for abusing staff on TfL's networks in the last seven years
  • In another incident Mihai Cretu, 32, from Tottenham, was sentenced on 16 April, at Westminster Magistrates' Court, to  a one-year Community Order - which included a four-week curfew requirement enforced through electronic tagging, having already pleaded guilty to assaulting  a female Tube worker at Seven Sisters station in January