BY JACK WATSON

The police visited my school the other day and they delivered a session about how youths in my area have been throwing objects such as rocks, bricks, eggs and other dangerous items at buses. This is not confined to my home town of Hull. In Edinburgh, over 30 kids were charged after buses and drivers were targeted, which resulted in police officers proactively patrolling the city as part of Operation Proust. This is an operation launched in response to an identified rise in youth related anti-social behaviour and disorder incidents aimed towards Edinburgh transport providers. And, also, in Nottingham, youths have been throwing objects at buses, causing damage and leaving the residents in disgust.

The problem is so bad it has led to buses being diverted from running their usual routes around certain areas and to some services stopping at 7pm. People are being forced to take earlier buses or to simply find other ways of getting to their destination in the evening. For those who have travelled to work, for a night shift, and intend to catch a bus home, their journeys have been affected. This is ridiculous.

As well as throwing objects at buses these youths are also forcing their way onto buses, attacking drivers and stealing the money. Violence against passengers is also an issue with thugs attacking passengers. A youth in Hull who squirted bleach in a driver’s face has narrowly avoided jail, which is not much of a deterrent. Also, a bus passenger was rushed to hospital ‘pouring with blood’ after the window next to him was shattered by vandals.

Crime on buses has increased by more than a third over three years, despite passenger numbers plummeting due to the pandemic. The figures from West Midlands Police show 4,101 crimes were recorded on the region’s bus network in 2021, up 34 percent from 3,061 in 2019. Violent attacks made up a third of all crimes on buses (1,367), while there were 809 recorded cases of arson and criminal damage, up by 42 per cent over two years. The authorities seem unable to prevent this from happening and the likelihood is these figures will rise.

Most of the vandals are youths. For example, boys, 12 and 14, were charged over a violent bus attack. They will appear in youth court; however, the chances are high that they will be released with a caution, which is nearly always the case. The law states that if a child or young person between 12 and 17 years old is sentenced in the youth court, they could be given a Detention and Training Order, which can last between four months and two years, or an ASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order). This means, they are free to repeat their crimes and endanger more people.

At some point they should be given a reasonable period of detention despite their age. After all, they could easily kill someone.

Transport crime is not unique to buses and the total cost of these crimes is £1.5bn annually. I use buses and it is a popular mode of transport; however, we should feel safe using them. These ‘hooligans’ are putting lives at risk, and they are making bus travel miserable for drivers and passengers. Moreover, it is not clear why they are doing it. They are kids with their whole lives ahead of them, but something is driving them to jeopardise their futures for what, presumably, they think is just a bit of fun. Until we can find out what motivates them, and we can stop them, they should be removed from the streets so that they cannot ruin the lives of innocents.

Jack Watson is a Year 9 student at Sirius North Academy, Kingston upon Hull. He blogs about being a Hull City fan at Ten Foot Tigers, which you can subscribe to here.