FIT AND
POLICE CHIEF IN DATABASE BID TO OUST ROGUE EAST HERTS CABBIES
East Herts’ chief inspector is working to give police officers access to a European database of criminals to reduce the risk to taxi passengers. Chief
McDonald
Insp Gerry has
acknowledged that cabbies may be work- ing in East Herts despite having com- mitted crimes abroad. Foreign drivers are not always subject to the same
pean equivalent of the police national com- puter as a trial. He said: “Some coun- tries are better than others at providing information and some are quicker than oth- ers. Not everybody keeps the same levels of records as we keep in the UK and some of the more developing countries
keep background
checks in their home countries - and police must sometimes wait months or years for foreign
criminal
records to arrive. Chief Insp McDonald, of Herts police, told the Hertfordshire Mer- cury he had discussed the prospect of his officers
access to the Euro- gaining
records that are not as good. There’s a mas- sive difference be- tween countries but this will be instant. “I’ve got a duty of care to protect my public and this is about going that extra mile. We will do everything to protect the public and this will give them reassurance. I want to use technology where it’s available and I think it will be
extremely easy. “I’m fully aware that I police a very diverse community. I will need to educate my staff that these checks can be done and not just stop when we hit the first hurdle. I’m start- ing with the European database and then we will see about the rest of the world.” Applicants for a taxi licence who have lived in the UK for less than five years must pro- vide a certificate of good conduct from the embassy of their home country. However, these certifi- cates do not always show detailed criminal records.
Mmm....the Law Com- mission is striving for national driver stan- dards in their current review - Ed
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PLYMOUTH DRIVER CAUGHT SPEEDING THREE TIMES ON SAME ROAD
A taxi driver could be facing
suspension
after he was caught speeding three times in one morning on the same road. According to the Bris- tol Independent, the driver, a cabbie for almost two decades who previously held a clean licence, now has
nine penalty points. He blamed the council after it lowered the speed limit on the road, which he claims doesn’t have a single speed limit sign. He admitted the of- fences and at Ply- mouth Magistrates’ Court was fined £150, with £60 in court costs
and a £30 victims sur- charge. The incident means he could be forced to convince council li- censing officers not to confiscate his badge. Magistrates heard the driver was clocked three times last December driving between 38mph and 41mph.
SIX PHV DRIVERS CAUGHT PLYING FOR TRADE IN CAMBRIDGE
Six private hire drivers have been caught ille- gally plying for hire in Cambridge. The drivers have been convicted following a joint investigation by Cambridge City Coun- cil, South Cambridge- shire District Council and Cambridgeshire police which took place on took place on
February 24 and 25. They were all fined and some also given penalty points on their licence. Cllr Colin Rosenstiel, chairman of licensing, told the Cambridge News: “We will always try to educate the taxi trade and provide guid- ance on appropriate practices, but where
this fails we have no alternative but to deal firmly with breaches.” Adrian Maltby, a Cam- bridge taxi driver, said: “It’s about time they did something. In the old days they used to do a lot of set-ups and I just hope they are cracking down again because it’s a major problem.”
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