On board CCTV, supplied and installed by 21st Century, has recently provided evidence in three serious cases of threatening behaviour involving weapons and an attack on a driver. Details of the cases were released by Paul Bonny, Senior CCTV Analyst for Arriva, and all three resulted in successful prosecutions through the courts.
Case 1
A driver from Battersea was threatened with a hammer by the driver of a van. Recorded video from externally and internally located cameras showed the man driving away from the bus after an incident and waiting at a stop farther along the route.
Further images then record the man ambushing the driver and threatening him with a hammer. The footage was handed over to the Met Police Workplace Violence Unit and the man was traced through a combination of personal and vehicle identification.
The man pleaded guilty in court and was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment.
Case 2
The driver of another London Bus was spat at, had a drink can thrown at him and was punched on the head by an assailant. He was identified using CCTV images and DNA evidence from the spit sample.
The man had entered the UK illegally and it was found that he had a history of offending, including an assault on a Stamford Hill bus driver.
He is now serving a nine-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty at Snaresbrook Magistrates’ Court in January to charges of actual bodily harm and theft – the latter arising from a separate incident involving picking someone’s pocket at a bus stop.
Case 3
Two teenagers are awaiting sentence following guilty pleas arising from an incident in May last year in which an Edmonton driver was threatened with a knife.
The incident happened on a bus in North West London when one of the youths pulled a knife and held it to the driver’s chest. He pleaded guilty to affray. The second youth pleaded guilty to causing fear and provoking violence.
Arriva London CCTV Support Analyst Robert Sawyer said: “In all three cases CCTV was crucial in identifying the culprits.”
Paul Rogers, Director of Sales and Marketing for 21st Century Technology Solutions, comments: “These are shocking incidents which are highly unusual and do not represent the normality of using or working in our excellent public transport system. However, it just shows how on board CCTV remains an invaluable tool offering protection to passengers and bus employees. In most cases it provides a deterrent, but in these types of rare cases where a serious situation arises it is pleasing to see they provide the vital evidence to bring a successful prosecution.”
Tags: cctv