SECURITY STAKEOUT GLASGOW TAXI DRIVERS’ RACIST ATTACK MISERY
A group of taxi drivers say they are living in fear of racist attacks and are calling on the council to allow them to install CCTV in their cars. The Glasgow Evening Times reports that the Scottish Ethnic Private Hire Welfare Associa- tion, which represents nearly 150 drivers belonging to ethnic minorities, said 30 drivers came forward to talk about
their
recent experiences of racism and hate crime at work. Pakistan-born Muham- med Saqib Majeed, the president of the association, has lived in Glasgow since 1997 and has driven a cab for 13 years. The 42- year-old said many drivers were worried about reporting racial
attacks and abuse to the police because of a lack of evidence. If drivers were allowed to install CCTV in their cars, the organisation says it would make their members feel safer at work and more able to report crimes. Mr Majeed, who said he had suffered racial abuse several times while driving his car, said: “The safety of driv- ers needs to be taken into consideration. We established the associ- ation in 2008 because there was a need for these drivers to be rep- resented. “They should not have to experience any kind of racism at work.” Mr Majeed also wants private hire drivers to be able to install other safety measures, such as wire grills separat-
ing the back and front seats. He said: “Most hack- ney cab drivers have glass separating them from passengers. If someone tries to punch me or use a weapon on me while I’m driving, I have no protection.” The CCTV plea came after one 36-year-old male driver was assaulted two days after drummer Lee Rigby was beheaded in broad daylight in London. As reported in the Evening Times, Glas- gow
campaigner and city solicitor Aamer Anwar has accused the police of “failing to investigate” the attack, which happened on Friday, May 24. The taxi had been called to
anti-racism
pick up a fare at the La Cala pub in Dennis- toun. In a formal letter to Police Scotland, Mr Anwar said the driver had been racially abused, punched and kicked outside the pub by three white men, aged around 25. Mr Anwar said officers attended the scene after the attack was reported but have not visited the alleged vic- tim since. Police Scotland said the complaint had been forwarded to Chief Constable Sir Steve House and inquiries were continuing. In regard to the inves- tigation,
a force
spokesman said: “Any report of a hate crime will, as with all crime, be thoroughly and professionally investi-
gated by Police Scot- land.
Indeed, we
actively encourage reporting of any hate crime.” Mr Naseem said: “We encourage all our members to report any crime to the police but we need the police to investigate it fully.” Mr Majeed added: “We deserve to be treated fairly. “There are several other incidents we’ve been told about involv- ing taxi
fraud and
racial abuse and we worry that police and the council are not tak- ing
it seriously
enough. “We are pushing for the council to consult with us. “Our drivers should not be living in fear.” A Glasgow City Coun- cil spokesman said
they were reviewing policies on allowing CCTV in private hire vehicles, but that there were issues regarding infringement of civil liberties and human rights. He said: “We have been looking at the arguments for and against CCTV – and the proposal is includ- ed in a review of policies that is under way with the trade. “However, there are significant legal and data protection issues to be resolved; with at least two local authori- ties in England facing action from the Infor- mation Commissioner. “In our own case, the C o m m i s s i o n e r advised the council to wait until legislation was clear before adopting any policy.”
SECURITY CONSCIOUS DAGENHAM FIRM FITS CCTV IN TAXIS
You
extra on every fare paid by card.
charge for your customer
managed service
for our for you! Phone: 0844 322 0102
www.silverpay.co.uk PAGE 38
A taxi company has installed CCTV cam- eras in more than half of its cabs. Hawaii
Five-O’s
owner, Christie Wet- tassinghe, believes the move is necessary for the security of his drivers and passen- gers. He believes others should follow his
example after the con- viction of Peter Teye, 33, from Dagenham, who was jailed for sex- ually assaulting a passenger. As reported in PHTM last month, Teye was recently sentenced to four years and tem- porarily worked at Hawaii Five-O, but was not working for the
firm when he carried out the attack. Mr Wettassinghe told the Colchester Daily Gazette: “Safety is important, which is why all our drivers have their badges. “CCTV was the next step and we are get- ting it
vehicles. Our drivers are happy to have it.”
NEW SCHEME SET TO TACKLE CRIME AGAINST STEVENAGE DRIVERS
Stevenage Council and Herts police have joined together
to
launch a new scheme aimed at reducing the amount of taxi drivers falling victim to crime. The Taxi Safe Havens initiative encourages licensed taxi drivers to carry out early risk assessments on their passengers, particu- larly if they are under the influence of alco- hol. If the driver does have
concerns, four loca- tions have been identified where they can go early in the journey to leave the passenger and,
need be, await emer- gency
without their
Mohammed response
fearing for safety. PC Alam,
from Hertfordshire Constabulary, told the Stevenage Advertiser: “The Taxi Safe Havens will hopefully change the way drivers think
if
about their fares. “Rather than waiting for a potentially nasty situation to get worse, they will be encour- aged to carry out an early risk assessment and to go to one of the havens to seek police assistance
before
things can escalate.”
Mmmm.....This has got to be one of the safest and most sensible ini- tiatives we’ve heard of in ages! Good luck and safer journeys - Ed.
PHTM AUGUST 2013
for all our
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