National Express West Midlands (NXWM) has welcomed the jailing for six months of a man, 50, who in separate incident assaulted two of its bus drivers by spitting at them. CCTV images and DNA evidence captured by ‘spit kits’ used by the operator and its drivers helped police to identify the criminal.
Says NXWM Managing Director David Bradford: “Spitting is disgusting and it is distressing for our drivers and customers. It is also a criminal offence. Nobody should be subjected to this shocking behaviour.
“Working closely in partnership with the Safer Travel policing team, the spit kits used by our drivers give us irrefutable DNA evidence to help the police to track down offenders and secure convictions in court. We also have CCTV all over our buses to give the police crystal clear images.”
Mr Bradford adds that the Safer Travel team performed “quick work” on the case. In May 2020, another man was jailed for 17 weeks after spitting at an NXWM driver because she challenged his attempt to avoid payment of the fare. In 2019, another individual was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison for spitting at a bus driver in the West Midlands.
During 2020, the West Midlands Safer Travel Partnership said it has seen an increase in incidents involving spitting at bus drivers, but added that a combination of CCTV and ‘spit kits’ gives a 75% chance of identifying perpetrators.
Each of NXWM’s 3,500 drivers carry the ‘spit kits’. The kits include swabs, gloves and sealed bags and allow staff to take saliva samples and protect them from contamination before they are passed to the police.
West Midlands Victims’ Commissioner Nicky Brennan has also welcomed the latest sentence. Bus drivers, she says, “do not deserve to be subject to such awful behaviour, and in my role as Victims’ Commissioner I will do all that I can to support them.”
