Sexual harassment crackdown on Glasgow trains sees passengers told to 'trust their gut'

Travellers can expect to see an increased police presence in stations across the city this Christmas as part of a national effort to tackle sexual violence on carriages.

The force's figures show a slight increase in the number of reported sexual assaults in Scotland the last year - with 16 offences recorded in 2019/2020 to 21 so far in 2021. 

Although reported incidents remain low, one sexual assault is "far too many" for the BTP. 

Detective Chief Inspector, Arlene Wilson, said: “We’re approaching the Christmas party season and generally things get busier and stations will see a lot more footfall.  

“We are anticipating that there will be more passengers travelling throughout the network and we want them to feel safe.  

“We went from 16 recorded sexual assaults in 2019/20 to 21 so far this year from April 1 to November.  

“Really, one sexual assault is one too many for British Transport Police.

"One person who has to go through something awful or even one person who feels uncomfortable through somebody else’s actions is one too many for me."

During evening patrols, BTP officers will be handing out cards to passengers this weekend with words of encouragement to report suspicious activity to the force.

Detective Inspector Wilson said: “Tonight we are handing out ‘text 6106’ cards and we are hoping if people are ever on a train are ever made to feel uncomfortable by somebody else they can discreetly text our control room to let us know about the situation. 

“The control room will then dispatch officers to an incident at the time or officers will be dispatched at an appointment at a later date. 

“We want to make sure that people who are travelling at different times to what they normally would or those who are consuming alcohol feel safe and secure and that they have got that number if they need it. 

“The rail network is a safe place and there is a low level of offences but that certainly doesn’t stop us wanting to make sure that there are absolutely no offences." 

BTP is encouraging passengers to report any form of unwanted activity in order to allow them to follow up on the crime and convict potential perpetrators. 

Detective Inspector Wilson said: “Sexual assault can be somebody inappropriately touching you. You can also have a situation where someone is glaring at you or maybe somebody is moving through the train following you.  

“Or, somebody can be speaking to you when you have made it clear you don’t want them to talk to you and they are persistent and won’t leave you alone. 

“These are all types of things that we would want to know about."

It is considered that the number of reported offences in Scotland remains low due to the nature of the crimes and victim shame towards the assault.

The BTP is assuring any report will be dealt with seriously.

“Some people have said in the past that they have been to embarrassed to make a report to us because they feel that it’s nothing and that they shrugged it off", said Detective Inspector Wilson.

“This should not be the case – you have every right, wherever you are to feel safe whether you are on the street, a night club or on the train. 

“If you feel that something is out of place and doesn’t feel right then we want to hear from you. We want people to trust their gut instinct and report things that don’t feel right.” 

Once a text of concern is received, it will arrive at the BTP control room where teams will reply asking to phone if it is safe to do so. 

From the point of a text, there will also be communication around what is required in terms of a police response.

Detective Inspector Wilson said: “If you are a victim and something happens, trust your gut instinct. If something doesn’t feel right then the chances are, it isn’t right and we want to know and find out what is going on. 

“We can then build a picture in relation to people who may or may not be travelling on the rail network doing things that they shouldn’t be. 

“To potential perpetrators – be aware that Scotland’s railway network has a multitude of CCTV cameras. Think about the consequences of your actions and what they may have on someone who is just trying to travel from point A to point B.  

“Do not approach people and do not do anything that is unwanted and if you do choose to go down that path, there is a very high chance that you will be caught and punished for your actions.” 

Passengers can report crimes or incidents by texting BTP on 61016. In an emergency, Police Scotland can be dialled on 999.