tsr
Established Member
Be warned, a friend of mine was mugged on East Croydon while waiting for a Gatwick train in the early hours not so long ago, and that was on the concourse. The overstretched police were called, but didn't appear within the hour so he just continued on his way.
I spend a lot of time at all hours at East Croydon (work, mainly), and that's surprisingly rare on the station. Indeed, no specific person has ever approached me to say they've been mugged during the course of the last few years. The ramp end, thus the main high-level concourse, is the main route used by station staff between platforms, and therefore people are either kept an eye on or tend to wander off (or get removed) if they're up to no good.
Just outside the station is a different story entirely, and most certainly not recommended. At all.