Efforts to encourage victims and witnesses of sexual assaults are paying off with a string of recent arrests, say Metro Vancouver Transit Police officials.

Three men have been arrested in separate incidents this past month, according to spokesperson Anne Drennan.

But the spike in arrests is due to more people reporting the incidents quickly, rather than an actual increase in sexual assaults, said Drennan.

"We know that sex offences on the system are underreported, as are sexual offences in general," said Drennan. "We estimate that fewer than 10 per cent of sexual offences on the system are reported."

"We have been making a concerted effort to get people to report these offences, whether they are victims or witnesses, and each of these arrests are directly attributable to people who reported these incidents either immediately afterwards, or in one case during the incident."

Three men arrested

One man was arrested by police on May 20 after allegedly sitting down next to two women and groping them during two separate bus trips earlier in the month. In one of the incidents the victim was with her young daughter. The suspect was recognized by police and later arrested at the Waterfront Station.

The second man was arrested at the Surrey Central Bus Loop on May 21 after allegedly making rude sexual remarks and gestures. The 44-year-old Surrey man was released without charges on a promise to appear by police.

Another 21-year-old Vancouver man, whose identity has not been released, was arrested on May 27 after reportedly exposing himself on board the Canada Line train, then later at a bus stop, and again later in Point Grey. He was charged with two counts of indecent acts and released.

Text 87 77 77 for police

Drennan said in each of the recent cases, the victims were "extremely strong" and did the right thing by moving away and reporting the incident quickly to police.

If you are assaulted on transit the best thing to do is text the police at 87 77 77 right away so they can move quickly to apprehend the suspect, said Drennan.