The number of crimes reported along the Bristol and Bath Railway Path increased by a third last year. Data obtained by Bristol Live via a Freedom of Information request show that, in 2024, a total of 12 crimes committed along the busy route were reported to police.
That is a 33 per cent increase from 2023, when nine crimes were reported along the route. This sharp rise last year comes after two years of significant drops.
Back in 2020, a total of 35 crimes were recorded along the route, which then dropped to 15 in 2021. This then reduced further in 2022 to eight crimes.
The most common offence recorded on the busy route last year was common assault and battery (4), followed by robbery of personal property (3). These were followed assault occasioning actual bodily harm (2) and the sexual offence of exposure (2).
There was also one incident of robbery of business property. Of the 12 crimes recorded last year, half were recorded in the space of six hours between 6pm and midnight.
Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement: “We are committed to making sure the Bristol and Bath Railway Path is a safe place for all its users and neighbourhood officers carry out regular foot and bike patrols along the route to that end.
“Responding to issues of anti-social behaviour and criminality are a priority and we continue to urge people to report incidents to us to enable us to respond to these incidents but also direct proactive resources.
“We also hold frequent free bike marking events to help prevent crime. These are advertised in advance, and we would encourage any cyclist to use this scheme.”
At the end of 2020, a series of crimes were reported along the path, with police issuing an update on its policing plan for the area as a result, and then detailed plans on how to make the railway path safer were revealed by Sustrans.
Towards the end of 2024, BristolLive again reported on issues along the route. In September, we reported how local residents were growing increasingly concerned about a group of masked young men engaging in antisocial behaviour in the area.
The group had allegedly been using speed-deregulated electric vehicles (EVs) for a year on the path, blocking people’s way and swerving into path users to ‘intimidate’ them.
And then, in November, cyclists demanded action after reports of robberies, including one at knifepoint. One involved a delivery driver being knocked off his electric bike and another man who reported having his bicycle stolen at knifepoint.