The crime-commission process of sexual offences on London trains (SOLT): offending in plain sight, not just at night

This thesis explores sexual offences that are committed on London trains, which has seen an increase over the past 3 years (BTP, 2018). This research aims to produce a detailed and comprehensive descriptive account of sexual offences on London trains (SOLT), utilising psychological and criminological theoretical constructs, for example, crime script theory and narrative criminology, to understand the commission of such offences. The initial study conducted with proactive officers from the British Transport Police (BTP) (N = 14), provided preliminary findings in relation to the offence specific characteristics and behaviours of SOLT that related to situational and environmental factors.
A further study was conducted with a sample of convicted offenders to understand how they make sense of themselves and their actions as perpetrators. Key factors were their post hoc rationalisations for their behaviours and insights regarding how these factors influence their decision-making.
The final study of archival police records explored the importance of spatial and temporal factors relating to the behaviours of individuals committing sexual offences in the train environment. Offence characteristics were interrogated to explore relationships between variables, to distinguish between the different sexual offending behaviours for the different offence types.
This thesis adds to existing knowledge of how psychological theories can be employed to inform the policing approach and practice to SOLT, as well as adding to the wider literature on sex offending. This research identifies how the complexities of the political, organisational and individual factors impact on the outcome of policing strategies to address SOLT. To complement this new theoretical model, the findings presented in this thesis also provide useful direction for strategic thinking and operational practice within BTP.