Romford train station crime almost doubles, data shows

The manager of Mangal Meze and a waitress at The Yummy Greek, both in South Street, commented on stabbings and fighting near the busy station.

Romford train station has had a rise from 0.64 crimes and anti-social behaviour offences per 100,000 passengers to 1.15 in the past year, according to British Transport Police (BTP) data.

Marissa Jewell, 20, a waitress at The Yummy Greek, said she saw people injured near Romford station last year.

"It's really scary," Marissa said. "There have been times I've walked past the station and seen people bleeding out on the floor."

Marissa, who works at The Yummy Greek, said more needs to be done to address issues, primarily homelessness, near Romford train station (Image: Marissa Jewell)

The 20-year-old also commented on the recent stabbing in The Brewery Shopping Centre on March 14 this year, a day she was working.

"I remember being on shift that day and hearing about it, thinking it was so close [to the restaurant].

"If someone came to Romford for the first time they would not feel safe," she added.

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Alex said crime has 'improved' over the last 3-4 months, but before that it was high (Image: Alex Aykhan)

BTP compared data from March 2023 to February 2024 with the same period last year to create the stats.

From 2023 to 2024, there were a total of 52 crimes, compared with 29 between 2022 and 2023.

Alex Aykhan, 41, manager of Mangal Meze, said fighting and stabbings around the station were "unacceptable".

"When police are not here there's a lot more crime," said Alex, who along with Marissa, noted an increase in officers around the station.

Alex said the last three or four months had been an improvement, but crime was "high" prior to that.

BTP noted that busy stations such as Romford, which has around 4.5 million annual passengers, will generate more crime.