I subscribe to the TfL press release RSS, at least while it’s still considered useful to tell the population what’s being done in their name - perhaps the advent of Mad Axeman Tim Parker may put an end to this service, who knows? Transparency and accountability don’t seem to have been high priorities so far.
Anyway, perusing contents of the release at 01:00 today one finds:
* DNA testing kits are to be issued to bus drivers to test saliva samples from people spitting on buses. Not got a problem there, sounds perfectly sensible, although I can foresee issues with evidence admissibility for samples collected by, effectively, amateur forensics guys. It’s noticeable that TfL say the similar scheme at Tube stations has only resulted in 100 prosecutions, without any information on how many convictions were forthcoming. That means most Tube stations will never have used the kit.
* ‘Crime on London Buses is low and getting lower’, followed by a list of the actions taken under the previous Mayor to reduce offending on buses. Eh? I thought a plank of Boris’ campaign was that someone needed to come in and make buses safer. What’s going on?
This second point does illustrate something I’ve been expecting - with all the Gilligan/Standard-inspired hoo-hah during and before the campaign about TfL’s ‘cronyism’ and releasing figures supposedly friendly to Ken and hostile to Boris, what got slightly forgotten was ‘what happens if Boris wins and TfL’s figures were *right*?’. This is the first example I’ve seen of this, and it’s pleasing that someone in TfL’s PR team sees their duty to report the truth rather than spare the new boss embarrassment.
What Boris Said:
”I have promised Mrs Reynolds, and all Londoners, that I will work tirelessly to put a stop to the crime and antisocial behaviour that is making life unbearable for people across the capital.
“The creation of the new police teams with some 440 extra officers is a key element which, along with our work to improve youth provision and tackle the scourge of knives, will start to give Londoners back the confidence to travel around their city free from the fear of crime.”
What The Police Said
The Metropolitan Police Service Transport Operational Command Unit and Transport for London have this month achieved a landmark 2,000 arrests for criminal damage to London’s buses - through the award winning Operation BusTag.
Since BusTag’s inception, the BusTag team has tripled its arrest rate of offenders of bus criminal damage, which takes the form of graffiti, window etching, seat and window damage, and arson.
The key to their successful investigations is through applying a forensic-style methodology to CCTV image identification.
Over 95% of the 2,000 cases dealt with by BusTag have resulted in serious consequences for the offender, such as police reprimands, and court sentences ranging from fines and community service to imprisonment.
What The Professionals Said:
The latest figures (April to September 2007/08 [sic]) show that bus related crime is down by 11 per cent on the previous year, and youth bus related crime has fallen 19 per cent over the same period
London’s buses carry 6.3m passengers a day on 700 routes across the Capital, and are a low crime environment - only 15 crimes for every million passenger journeys
LU has actively encouraged its staff to report all assaults, no matter how minor, in order to develop effective preventative measures. This has been effective and the reporting of all types of assaults, threats and verbal abuse provides both the BTP and London Underground’s Workplace Violence Unit with valuable intelligence
Examples of recent prosecutions are available on request
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