Posted By Davina Clark Does anyone have any information on how effective these have been? I know some bus companies use them, as well as the railway.

Posted By Andrew P Smith Davina, Yes, we are using them on buses in Bristol & Hampshire. FirstGroup rail are also using them. Have used them for a few months with quite a bit of press interest in the approach locally. Nationally on buses we have only had one conviction but the belief is that it is acting as an effective deterrent and is good for publicising on posters etc. It will take a long time to assess impact properly. Cost is £1 a spit kit when bought in serious quantity and the local police seem happy to co-operate (although instances need to be brought to their attention straight away and spit needs to be on skin for sample to be taken). Andrew FirstGroup

Posted By Andrew P Smith Davina - Fairly easy to implement via a standard issue to all drivers along with an explanatory briefing sheet. The kit consists of two swab kits, one for a specimen of our drivers (so as not to confuse with assailant) and a sample of the assailant. Both are then bagged and await hand over to the police who should be contacted asap. The DNA record of the assailant is kept on police record permanently which is a strong selling point of the system. Union appear to have supported their use fairly well although have requested additional training for staff which we feel is unnecessary. As one of a series of measures I feel it’s a good approach particularly in signalling the non-tolerance of anti social behaviour. An important element is how clearly you can publicise / communicate the use of spit kits and maximise the deterrent impact. No real problems with staff when introducing the kits. I’m yet to hear of a refusal to carry a kit although I would be surprised if there was not a reluctance to use them for various reasons (i.e. they need to provide their own DNA sample or they might not wish to escalate the incident). Hope this is of some help, Andrew