An increase in violent and drug offences drove a 16% rise in crime on the region’s railways last year, according to a new report.

East Anglian Daily Times: BTP has released its annual crime statistics report Picture: ARCHANTBTP has released its annual crime statistics report Picture: ARCHANT (Image: Archant)

A total of 27,377 crimes were recorded by British Transport Police (BTP) across the eastern region in 2018/19, up from 23,521 during the previous 12 months.

BTP's annual crime statistics for the North B Division, which encompasses Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and parts of Cambridgshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire, revealed a 21% rise in violent offences.

Sexual offences on the region's railways rose by 8%, while drug crime soared 64% from 455 cases in 2017/18 to 750 last year.

Nationally, a 12% rise in crime was recorded across Britain's railways but BTP highlighted that there was fewer than one serious crime per million passenger journeys in 2018/19.

Deputy chief constable Adrian Hanstock said the force anticipated there could be a rise in overall crime as passenger numbers grew.

He said: "Despite this increase, when put into context it is important to remember that the chance of becoming a victim of crime on the railway is very low.

"We now police more than 3.3billion journeys each year, the equivalent of a third of the world's population passing through our jurisdiction.

"Of course, any rise in crime is of concern to us and we are tackling this head on through our problem-solving initiatives at key locations."

Criminal damage fell 7% but there were year-on-year rises in East Anglia for robbery (37%), motor vehicle/cycle offences (16%) and theft of passenger property (30%).

Public disorder offences in the region also increased from 4,090 in 2017/18 to 4,165 last year (1.8%).

BTP said preventing serious violence and knife crime remains one of its key priorities on the country's railways.

Mr Hanstock added: "Nationwide, our patrols and high-profile operations have included a number of overt and covert tactics to tackle knife crime.

"By using knife arches and stop and search powers in a controlled way, we've been able to seize weapons before they're used to potentially take a life.

"Fortunately, assaults involving a weapon on the railway are extremely rare, and these decisive steps are part of our commitment to keeping our railways safe."