CRIME CENTRAL; Glasgow station is the worst in Scotland for crime, cops reveal.

Byline: Cara Sulieman

GLASGOW Central is the most crime-ridden railway station in Scotland, official figures have revealed.

British Transport Police dealt with almost 7000 crimes in Scotland's stations in 2007-8. City centre stations were the toughest to police.

And Glasgow Central came top of the railway crime league with a total of 548 offences.

Edinburgh Waverley was next with 371 offences, followed by Glasgow Queen Street with 279.

And a total of 106 crimes were recorded at Motherwell station in Lanarkshire.

A rape was recorded at Inverness station but most of the serious crimes transport cops had to handle at stations involved drugs.

Drinking

Several sex offenders were arrested at Waverley, mainly for breaching court orders controlling their movements.

Booze was the worst problem at Motherwell station, with no fewer than 80 arrests for public drinking.

And at Gilmour Street Station in Paisley six people were held for urinating in public.

Police at Gilmour Street also recorded 18 more serious crimes, including thefts and assaults.

Most of the offences across Scotland - 1482 classed as serious and 2870 described as minor - took place in train or subway carriages.

The criminals were a tiny minority of Scotland's rail travellers, with a total of 54million journeys recorded at Central, Waverley and Queen Street.

And the crime figures for 2007-8 were actually a slight improvement on the year before.

But at a time when more and more people are being encouraged to travel by train, politicians said the statistics proved that tough action was still needed to keep our stations safe.

Labour transport spokesman Des McNulty said: "Clearly, crime at railways needs to be tackled as a matter of priority.

"If we are to encourage people to use trains and get out of their cars, it is vital that they feel safe at stations and on journeys.

"I will be asking what steps can be taken to improve passenger safety at Scotland's busiest stations, such as Glasgow Central and Waverley, which have the highest number of incidents.

"But I am also keen to see what can be done to improve safety at suburban and rural unmanned stations."

Earlier this year, justice secretary Kenny MacAskill launched a new initiative allowing transport cops to hand out on-the-spot fines for bad behaviour.

The pounds 40 penalties were designed to cover offences such as public urinating and minor breaches of the peace.

And as MacAskill unveiled the measures yards from Waverley, cops in the station were handing out the first of the fines to a drunk.

Fear

MacAskill said: "The public should be able to travel on our rail network without fear of being affected by loutishness, drunkenness and other unacceptable behaviour.

"British Transport Police officers now have the same powers as all of Scotland's police forces to take action against anyone indulging in such behaviour, helping them free up more time for preventing and tackling more serious crimes."

The 2007-8 crime figures were revealed after journalists used Freedom of Information laws to ask the police to make them public.

TOP TEN STATIONS FOR CRIME 07-08

Glasgow Central 548

Edinburgh Waverley 371

Glasgow Queen Street 279

Motherwell 106 Aberdeen 73

Paisley Gilmour Street 71

Stirling 45

Edinburgh Haymarket 42

Inverness 39

Dumbarton East 21

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SEX OFFENDERS: Waverley SPRAWLING: Concourse at Central