We tried TfL’s VR training on hate crime intervention – does it work?

Once put on, the user is taken to uncomfortable scenarios on the transport network (Picture: Nick Edwards for Metro)

In a corner of Euston Station, staff from Transport for London (TfL) are handing out VR headsets to commuters.

Once put on, the user is taken to uncomfortable scenarios on the transport network. Scenarios that many commuters have faced before as bystanders or victims.

But this time, the user is guided towards the best way to intervene as an ‘active bystander’.

It comes after flaws in the reporting system were exposed, including a lack of working CCTV, ‘disinterest’ from staff and a lack of confidence there will be a positive outcome.

The network has also seen a 36% rise in hate crime offences between January and August 2026 compared with the same period the previous year. 

Emma Croxall, head of safeguarding at TfL, agreed crimes are underreported on the network, but they are seeing a spike in hate crime incidents.

She told Metro: ‘We always see an increase surrounding international events. At the moment, we are seeing a lot of faith-based incidents, and we want people to know what to do and how to report this to us.’

One user of the VR headsets, Shuqi Zhou, described it as ‘very clear on how to follow’, adding: ‘It feels really realistic with all the familiar settings like the bus stops, and even Charing Cross Station.’

So, did Metro learn anything new?

Actors in the hate crime simulation which sees a woman assaulted over her hijab (Picture: TfL)

What happened in the hate crime simulation?

The production value is impressive and the scenes of hate crimes unfolding are shocking, especially because it brings you so close to the action. 

For hate crime awareness week, there were two scenarios to watch, a hate crime against a disabled person and one based on race and faith. 

The VR has the ability to transport you directly to the centre of the action, uncomfortably close to two horrific incidents which much like a nightmare leaves you a frozen onlooker. 

About halfway through it pauses and gives two options: Either ‘Act Like a Friend’ or intervene.  Selecting ‘Act Like a Friend’ is the safest option and the one TfL wants to instil in all Londoners. 

Another hate crime simulation, where users are given a choice on how to intervene (Picture: TfL)

You wait for the perpetrators to move on, take note of what they look like, comfort the victims and then go on to report the incident. 

Intervening seems to be discouraged. When selected, the perpetrators turn on you with aggression and venom that is genuinely quite shocking in VR before raising their fist to line up a punch before the scene ends. 

What happened in the sexual harassment simulation?

The VR experience was at a stall in Euston Station (Picture: Nick Edwards for Metro) One of the actors in a simulation where the user is subject to sexual harassment (Picture: TfL)

The VR headset also offers experiences of being sexually harassed and intimidated.

For women, this is hardly new. But for men, it can offer an opportunity to see how staring is a form of intrusive sexual harassment.

After putting on the headset, you are taken to the Piccadilly Line carriage, where as you sit down a man appears directly in front of you.

For the next few minutes, he stares at you uncomfortably. He does not break eye contact, leans forward with a snarl and makes it known he is ‘interested’.

But thankfully, another passenger offers their assistance. You can choose for them to ‘act like a friend’ or stay back.

Staying back sees them take note of the time, station and the man’s appearance to report later. But acting like a friend sees her physically get in between you and the man, to chat about ‘working in the office together’.

So will all of these scenarios actually help people feel comfortable to intervene and report crimes?

Especially as London TravelWatch estimates only two out of five victims of crime on public transport actually report what happened to them.

It is a worthy cause but it does nothing to address the number of uninvestigated reports, the lack of functioning CCTV on transport and the lack of convictions for perpetrators.

Not to mention the question of how many people are actually going to stop and spend five minutes looking into VR goggles in a busy transportation hub as they go from A to B.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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