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Boris pledges to stamp out 'disgrace' of drugs on buses
Rob Singh, Evening Standard11 Apr 2008
Boris Johnson has vowed to stamp out drug-taking on the buses if he is elected mayor.
The Tory candidate claims that mayor Ken Livingstone has ignored the problem as statistics showed drug-related crime went up by two thirds on the capital's buses.
Metropolitan police figures show crimes involving drug use went up by 66 per cent between April and November 2007 compared with the same period the year before.
Mr Johnson highlighted reports earlier this month about the T31 route in Croydon - plagued by cannabis smokers but with bus drivers unwilling to call police for fear the delays might irritate passengers.
Bosses at the bus depot also did not want drivers to confront the drug users because it could put their staff in danger.
He also highlighted shocking photos published by the Evening Standard in 2005 of a passenger smoking crack cocaine on the 24 travelling to Pimlico at 9.45am.
Mr Johnson has made safety on the buses a major part of his manifesto.
He said: "It is a disgrace that Londoners have to suffer this kind of behaviour on our buses. People should be able to travel in safety with their children. When I am Mayor my extra officers will crack down on drug-taking on our buses."
But Transport for London said Mr Johnson had failed to take into account that overall crime on London's buses actually fell 11 per cent in that period.
The statistics showed that robbery was down 28.3 per cent, criminal damage down 22.2 per cent and theft down nine per cent.
A TfL spokesman said: "Over the sixmonth period referred to, 381 drugs offences were recorded out of nearly a billion passenger journeys on 8,000 buses that serve 700 different routes.
"A large number of these offences were recorded through targeted police operations and the increase in the number of police officers on the bus network has contributed to crime on London's buses falling by 11 per cent.
"The rate of bus related crime is now at its lowest for four years with just 15 crimes for every million passenger journeys."
Reader views (11)
If only he'd roll this out the tube - I have on 4 occasions seen people smoking what appears to be heroin from foil.
- Steve, London, 11/04/2008 16:11
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Whenever crime surveys suggest that crime is going down while police stats say it is going up, Labour say surveys are more accurate.
Now that surveys suggest crime is increasing and police stats say it is going down, the government back up Ken's idea that surveys are just 'opinion'.
It just goes to show that Labour will say anything to try and back up their suggestions that crime is falling, whether it is or not.
- Robert Cunningham, Harrow, London, UK, 11/04/2008 15:11
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Yet again scaremongering by people who would not know what a bus is even if it hit them head on. I use the buses on a daily basis and have done for 18 years, and only once have I seen someone light up a spliff - and he was immediately thrown off the bus by the driver. Drug use may or may not have increased in society, but to 'take' drugs on a bus is very rare occurrence indeed. Boris should concern himself with real issues like reducing overall crime rather than making 'cheap' statements to win votes on peoples fears.
- Keith G, London, 11/04/2008 15:05
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More empty, populist nonsense from the empty populist. No doubt this idiocy will appeal to the Thatcherite blue rinsers who don't use the buses!
- Chris, London, 11/04/2008 14:53
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"Since when did Transport for London become a political mouthpiece for Livingstone?"
Have you not seen the way bendy buses jump red lights and block box junctions at will - there's clearly some sort of deal between TfL and Ken; they get to do what they want on the roads as long as they support Ken when he asks them to. Frankly, though, I've heard enough TfL statistics which directly contradict my own experiences to ignore them.
- St, London, 11/04/2008 14:30
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Quite right Boris - I am fed up of being subjected to the cocaine and cannabis habits of London's upper middle classes whilst spraying graffiti, playing my phone and dropping litter on the bus.
- Ian, Hackney, 11/04/2008 14:22
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This is all getting silly. First, statistically, Mr. Livingstone is correct, so why should Mr Johnson's obvious misuse of statistics prevail? (Not that the current Mayor does not misuse statistics when convenient). Also, how could one possibly equate crack cocaine with cannabis, as one blogger does? I'm much more worried about assaults and robberies than some idiot abusing his body. I would like to add that London is a fantastic city with great services. Try living in the USA, as I had, and you will learn to appreciate your home. No change needed, thank you.
- Wayne Roberts, Feltham, UK, 11/04/2008 14:10
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Well tfl spokesmen have a minicab account so how can they be sure crimes going down on buses? This is a typical response, I didn't expect them to be honest anyway. Time for a changing of the guards, democracy will prevail.
- Diane Benjamin, london, 11/04/2008 12:50
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Quite right Boris, Tfl's claim that crime overall has fallen on buses may be correct (I don't know) however it is irrelevant on the basis that it has not fallen enough and any occasion that passengers are subjected to smoke from cannabis or crack (and as a bus user this is more frequent than you'd expect) is once too often. The only solution is more police or support officers on buses as Boris advocates
- Sj, London, 11/04/2008 12:37
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Since when did Transport for London become a political mouthpiece for Livingstone?
- Stuart W, London, 11/04/2008 12:36
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Excuse me... How would he do that? He makes me laugh!
- M Munro, West Kensington, 11/04/2008 12:33
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