Recent national headlines have underscored a grim reality: reports of sexual assaults and harassment on trains have surged by more than a third over the past decade. A BBC investigation, reported on 14 October 2025, revealed 2,661 incidents last year across England, Scotland and Wales – and one in ten victims was a child, some as young as 12.
These figures are alarming. Yet their power is blunted when they remain national abstractions. What matters to Harrow’s commuters is: what is happening at Harrow & Wealdstone, at Harrow-on-the-Hill, at Headstone Lane and at other local stations?
According to local data, Harrow’s Underground stations recorded 205 crimes in 2024, up from 197 the previous year – most of them concentrated at Harrow-on-the-Hill. But those numbers tell us little about where or when people are most at risk.
Are assaults rising at night? On particular platforms? In carriages or station forecourts? We simply don’t know.
That absence of detail is not just inconvenient – it’s a shield. Without transparent, station-level data on sexual offences, campaigners, elected representatives, and commuters lack the evidence to demand targeted safety improvements: more patrols, better lighting, clearer CCTV coverage, visible staff presence, or station redesigns.
Worse, the lack of transparency allows national bodies – from the British Transport Police (BTP) to train operators – to insist they are “responding proportionally,” without showing whether Harrow, with its multiple high-traffic commuter hubs, is being adequately protected.
This data gap also undermines trust. When commuters read that sexual assaults have risen 37% since 2015, or that violent crimes against women and girls on transport increased 20% last year, they deserve to know what that means in their own borough.
If Harrow’s figures mirror, or exceed, those trends, we need to see it. If they don’t, transparency would reassure the public that progress is being made. Either way, the public deserves the truth.
Harrow council, passenger groups, and local media must press harder. They should demand that BTP, TfL, and national rail operators publish station-level, time-of-day breakdowns of sexual and harassment incidents – at least quarterly. Without that, public confidence cannot be rebuilt.
These figures are alarming. Yet their power is blunted when they remain national abstractions. What matters to Harrow’s commuters is: what is happening at Harrow & Wealdstone, at Harrow-on-the-Hill, at Headstone Lane and at other local stations?
According to local data, Harrow’s Underground stations recorded 205 crimes in 2024, up from 197 the previous year – most of them concentrated at Harrow-on-the-Hill. But those numbers tell us little about where or when people are most at risk.
Are assaults rising at night? On particular platforms? In carriages or station forecourts? We simply don’t know.
That absence of detail is not just inconvenient – it’s a shield. Without transparent, station-level data on sexual offences, campaigners, elected representatives, and commuters lack the evidence to demand targeted safety improvements: more patrols, better lighting, clearer CCTV coverage, visible staff presence, or station redesigns.
Worse, the lack of transparency allows national bodies – from the British Transport Police (BTP) to train operators – to insist they are “responding proportionally,” without showing whether Harrow, with its multiple high-traffic commuter hubs, is being adequately protected.
This data gap also undermines trust. When commuters read that sexual assaults have risen 37% since 2015, or that violent crimes against women and girls on transport increased 20% last year, they deserve to know what that means in their own borough.
If Harrow’s figures mirror, or exceed, those trends, we need to see it. If they don’t, transparency would reassure the public that progress is being made. Either way, the public deserves the truth.
Harrow council, passenger groups, and local media must press harder. They should demand that BTP, TfL, and national rail operators publish station-level, time-of-day breakdowns of sexual and harassment incidents – at least quarterly. Without that, public confidence cannot be rebuilt.
Harrow Monitoring Group 