Posted on 06/04/2007 9:49:29 PM PDT by BGHater
London: Bus drivers are to be issued with DNA kits so that passengers who spit on them can be traced by police.
The "spit kits" are already supplied at all 275 Tube stations and are expected to be rolled out this summer across London's 7,000-strong bus fleet.
It is the latest initiative against anti-social behaviour on buses and has coincided with the Mayor's introduction of free bus travel for under-16s.
The DNA kits will allow drivers to take swabs of saliva that can be passed to the police and checked against criminal records. Transport for London says that about seven out of 10 samples provides a match.
A TfL spokeswoman said: "We have spit kits at every London Underground station, where they have been used successfully in a number of police investigations of assaults." The move was welcomed by London bus drivers' union Unite. However, it said more needed to be done to minimise crime on buses. New figures released by TfL to the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act found that in the year since free bus travel was introduced in September 2005 there were 5,701 reports of youth crime on buses - up 55 per cent on the 3,666 reports in the previous 12-month period.
Tom Scanlon, secretary of Unite's T&G section, said: "It is important for the travelling public to recognise that the bus driver has a stressful and responsible job to do and should not be put under added pressure. Free travel reduces the scope for confrontations over fares." TfL commissioner Peter Hendy admitted there had been an increase in crime by under-16s but at a time when the number of journeys by this age group had increased by more than a third.
So they will begin hurling their dog’s poop or something similarly untraceable.
This is just pathetic.
You know, there was a time when the sun never set on the British Empire...
i love when smug europeans try to criticize us americans.. they are so far gone, it’s hopeless and i just laugh at them when they try their usual arrogance.
Anti-social behaviour bump.
I don’t have the answer but I HATE it when guys spit.
Yes, but there are some who like to SPIT on the british Empire...
Well now...
if they supplied the bus drivers with .38 revolvers instead....
They could “mark” the errant passengers in an unmistakable fashion.
I’m thinking a nice round hole in their forehead would stand out on surveillance tapes....???
Is this some kind of trendy thing, spitting on bus drivers? Is it naive to ask what for?
Instead of DNA swab kits, why don’t they just issue Glocks or Beretta’s. Somebody spits on you, BAM!
A couple of yob gobs, a couple rounds of .9mm, a couple of dead yobs and maybe they would get the idea of no more spitting.
‘It is the latest initiative against anti-social behaviour on buses and has coincided with the Mayor’s introduction of free bus travel for under-16s.’
Dam. Why the hell are they getting upset? They ride for free!
It does remind me of the time a very good friend of mine was spat upon the Metro in Paris. She made the mistake of wearing her Star of David in the presense of an Algerian, and that was his way of showing his unwavering *respect* for the Jewish people.
Why don’t they just install plexiglass doors for the drivers. I mean, it isn’t rocket science. And, what is this all about, anyway? Spitting on bus drivers? What in the world? What next?
I could have used one of those kits back in 1972.
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Bit extreme. A Taser should be adequate
How about a “Just Say Drool” program...???
....good point...
And, it would be a bit more quiet...
EXCEPT for the screaming.
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