Mayor Boris Johnson ‘taking credit for fall in bus crime’
Published: 25th February, 2011
by PETER GRUNER
LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson was accused of trying to “steal” all the credit for falling crime on the capital’s transport network when he visited Finsbury Park station.
During a walkabout at the station on Monday, he was also criticised for scrapping plans for step-free access to platforms for wheelchair users and parents with pushchairs.
The mayor announced figures claiming to show that London’s transport network is safer than those in almost all other European cities. Crime on the buses has fallen by 30 per cent and by 20 per cent on the Tube over the past three years.
The drop is said to be partly due to the dramatic expansion of CCTV cameras on buses.
The figures show that robbery on public transport has dropped by 46.5 per cent – down to 2,782 recorded incidents from 5,194 – while violent crime has fallen by 19 per cent on buses and 15 per cent on the Tube.
Mr Johnson said he wanted people to realise they were living in a city that was relatively safe.
But Islington’s London Assembly Labour member Jennette Arnold said Mr Johnson had inherited a commitment to safer transport from previous Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone.
Talel Karim, chief executive of Finsbury Park business forum FinFuture, said that the mayor had told him that step-free access at the station would happen in time.
Mr Johnson praised a warden scheme, introduced last year, which had helped to improve security around the station. “They provide a sense of safety to commuters and bring more business confidence to the area,” he said.