The worst train station in Lincolnshire where rail passengers were likely to witness a crime has been revealled.
Passengers at Boston station were the most likely to fall victim to a crime last year according to the latest research.
An analysis of UK Police data has revealed that there were 13 crimes that took place at the station in the 12 months to December 2019.
When compared to the latest passenger statistics that works out as six crimes for every 100,000 people entering or exiting the station - the highest figure in Lincolnshire.
Across Lincolnshire, the figures show that there were 147 crimes recorded by British Transport Police that took place on or near railway stations in the 12 months to December 2019.
That’s down by 13% on the year before, when there were 169.
Boston was followed by Sleaford (3.9 crimes for every 100,000 passengers), Grantham (2.9) and Lincoln Central (2.4).
Lincoln Central saw the highest number of crimes - 44 - but it also had the highest number of passengers.
The number of violence and sexual offences rose 3% over the period.
The most common type of crime was violence and sexual offences (35 crimes), followed by public order (33 crimes) and other theft (26 crimes).
Looking nationally, the number of crimes recorded by British Transport Police rose slightly in the last year (by 1.4%).
There were 56,257 crimes in the year to December 2019, compared to 55,481 the year before.
Adrian Hanstock, Deputy Chief Constable at British Transport Police said: “Like forces throughout Britain, we have seen an increase in notifiable crime within the national network.
“With record levels of passengers using the railway, we anticipated there could be a subsequent rise in crime.
“As stations become increasingly commercial environments, a large proportion of this increase is as a result of theft of passenger property, anti-social behaviour or shoplifting.
“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.
“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.”
The increase was mainly driven by an increase in theft (up 51%), robbery (up 27%) and drug offences (up 23%).
The statistics show that the number of crimes involving the possession of weapons fell by 27% last year at Britain’s railway stations.
There were 719 in the year to December 2019 - down 27% from the 985 crimes recorded in the previous 12 months.
However that was still higher than the 474 recorded in the year to December 2017.
DCC Hanstock said: “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 an 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.”
Looking at stations with more than 50 crimes, Cambridge North was the worst for crime across the country.
There were 19.6 crimes there for every 100,000 passengers in the year to December 2019.
That was followed by Hull station, (8.6 crimes for every 100,000 passengers), Fareham (7.5 crimes for every 100,000 passengers) and Ramsgate (6.5 crimes for every 100,000 passengers).
