The NSW Branch of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union ‘spit kits’ should be used to collect evidence following spitting assaults on transport workers on the Sydney network.
‘Spit kits’ allow staff members to swab an offender’s saliva to obtain their DNA following spitting incidents. This DNA can then be tested, to see whether a match can be found within the Police database.
“Spit assaults on transport workers are unfortunately on the rise,” the RTBU NSW Branch said on its Facebook page this week.
“We’re calling for portable testing equipment to track down the offenders.
“The ‘spit kits’ work by testing the DNA in saliva against existing databases of people with criminal records. In the UK the kits have been a big success and have led to a decrease in spitting attacks.”
Indeed, Transport for London, which introduced trial kits in early 2003, says they’ve reduced spit attacks on staff by 75%.
“The kits were first introduced on London Underground Zone 1 stations in the summer of 2003 as part of a programme to tackle violent and antisocial behaviour towards staff,” TfL said in July 2013.
Following the successful trial, the kits were distributed to all London Underground stations in October 2003. The use of the kits, coupled with publicity about their use, helped reduce the average number of reported incidences from 12 per reporting period to just three, over the next decade, TfL said.
By all accounts, the ‘spit kit’ deployment in London has been a success.
“From 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013, 91% of all spit kit submissions resulted in a DNA profile being obtained,” British Transport Police detective inspector John Justice said.
“73% of all spit kit submissions resulted in the DNA identification of an offender.”
And the success of the kits in the London Underground, specifically, might expedite their implementation in the Sydney Trains network. Howard Collins, chief executive of Sydney Trains, was the chief operating officer of the London Underground from July 2008 to June 2013.