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EMERGENCY: MOB ATTACK ON 29 BUS
Police use special powers after knifing of two men by 15 assailants
A MASSIVE police presence will greet passengers on Camden’s most notorious bus route after a gang stabbed one man and robbed a second on the 29 bus in Camden Town on Monday night.
The authorities increased police numbers on the route, known as the Crazy Train, after the attack created fears of gang retaliation.
The whole borough was covered by emergency police powers which allows officers to stop and search anyone without giving a reason.
Around 15 men boarded the bus in Camden Road at around 10.30pm, some carrying knives. They robbed two men and left a 27 year-old with knife wounds to his leg before escaping towards St Pancras Way, some wearing masks.
Camden’s head of community policing, Superintendent Raj Kohli, said last night (Wednesday): “This is an active and full investigation which has already had results.
“We have put out a message to bus drivers and Transport for London saying: If you are unhappy with large groups of people on your bus, call us immediately. I’ve made it clear there must be a Rolls Royce response, just in case there are repercussions.
“For your readers the message is: You will see more PCSOs and PCs on the buses.”
Eleven men have so far been arrested in connection with Monday’s incident, and police inquiries continue, but Supt Kohli said the motive for the attack was unknown.
“It could just have been a dirty look,” he said.
“We don’t know in these cases. But we know who was involved.”
The 29 bus route, which by linking Trafalgar Square with Wood Green via Camden Town is one of London’s longest, has provoked frequent criticism.
Hampstead councillor Kirsty Roberts said yesterday: “We talk about designing out crime but with that bus route we do the opposite. The 29 bus almost designs in crime by its nature.
“It is a route with a very bad reputation, a known problem route, and the bendy bus could almost be intended to encourage crime because people ride it at liberty, without paying, with the driver unable to see.”
Although a spokeswoman for Transport for London (TfL) said yesterday that crime on the 29 bus service was only fractionally higher than the London route average and had fallen in the past year, a large increase in police resources for the route follows years of concerns over its safety.
Research from London Assembly members earlier this year showed the 29 route had the third highest level of crime and anti-social behaviour of any route in London.
There are also no immediate plans to remove bendy-buses from the route, after Mayor Boris Johnson’s replacement pledge in May’s elections was watered down last month to just three routes – and those did not include the 29.
The TfL spokeswoman added: “We know there is more to do to tackle this problem. Camden has this year got a borough-based team of around 50 officers dedicated to the buses solely in the borough.
“If there are issues that the local community communicates to TfL we will listen.” |
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