Transport for London (TfL) and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Roads and Transport Policing Command have successfully caught and prosecuted a bus vandal in Barnet.
Sean McCarthy was sentenced at Hendon Magistrates Court on February 3, 2016, after pleading guilty to criminal damage.
On March 4, 2015, Sean McCarthy intentionally and excessively damaged the exit door of a route 303 bus in Quakers Course, Barnet. The bus driver, working for Arriva, immediately called the TfL bus control centre – which provides direct contact to the police if bus drivers require it – and MPS Roads and Transport Policing Command officers arrived to arrest the suspect.
The case against McCarthy was supported by the driver’s witness statement obtained through TfL’s Workplace Violence Unit, which provides support to all staff and contractors who experience threat or violence while on duty.
McCarthy was ordered to pay £444 in bus damages and victim charges, was sentenced to six weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months. He is also on an electronic monitoring curfew for six weeks, during which he must remain at his address between 2100 and 0700hrs daily, starting from February 3.
Steve Burton, TfL’s Director of Enforcement and On-Street Operations, said: “This is a great result for our policing teams and thanks to the coordinated efforts of the bus driver, our Workplace Violence Unit and the Roads and Transport Policing Command, this vandal has been caught and convicted of this wilful vandalism.
“I hope his sentencing will send out a clear message that we will not tolerate any form of vandalism on our services and will continue to work with the police to push for the toughest penalties available.”
