CCTV - YOUR SECURITY
SWINDON COUNCIL BRINGS BACK POLICY OF MANDATORY CCTV FOR TAXIS
All taxis and private hire vehicles in Swindon could be made to install CCTV in the cab if a new suggested policy is approved. According to the Swindon Advertiser, Swindon Borough Council’s licensing committee has signed off putting the suggested plan out to a public consul- tation at a meeting which was held on Wednesday 24 November. The committee chairman, Dale Heenan, stated that he wanted to hear from people who use taxis just as much as those who drive them. The report to the committee said: “A member of the public stepping into a licensed vehicle driven by a stranger must be able to place trust in that individual to be competent and safe. “The authority has a responsibility to ensure their safeguarding role is carried
out adequately and effectively.” It adds: “The installation of CCTV in licensed vehicles in not a new initiative, and nor is it now uncommon. “Some councils have found it to be a deterrent to would-be troublemakers and a source of evidence in cases of dis- putes between drivers and passengers.” Committee chairman Dale Heenan indicated in a number of tweets that he felt such a move could prove helpful. He wrote: “Ten years ago Sian O’Callaghan was murdered by cabbie Chris Halliwell, a resident of Nythe which I represent as a councillor. I remember the police briefing. “An issue wrestled with for years - should Swindon council make CCTV in taxis mandatory - is back. “Almost every taxi I’ve seen has a dash- cam, so is it time? Will it help passenger
safety? Will it aid drivers in disputes? Will it help Wiltshire Police with catch- ing fare dodgers like last year? Is cost the main reason not to proceed? If so, are there ways to deal with that? “Would taxi CCTV help reassure women alone at night? What more can Swindon council do through licensing to ensure that all women and girls can enjoy licensed premises and arrive home safely? “I welcome the thoughts and ideas of all residents and the trade, but in particular females who have ever had a concern.” In November 2019 a suggestion to make cameras mandatory was watered down to simply encouraging taxi drivers to installing them after representatives of the taxi trade said it would cost the fleet about £1m.
CCTV CATCHES ARMED ROCHESTER ROBBER WHO THREATENED CHATHAM CABBIE AT KNIFEPOINT
An armed robber threatened to cut a taxi driver with a knife before making off with £160 in cash. KentOnline reports that Matthew Lycett, described by police as a “dangerous criminal”, flagged down a cab in Chatham as he set about rob- bing an innocent target. The 28-year-old got in the taxi in Maid- stone Road and asked the driver to take him to Byrant Street. After asking for the internal light to be switched on, he leaned forward and placed a knife against the driver’s ribs. Lycett simultaneously reached into the victim’s jacket pocket and stole £160, before threatening to cut him as he asked for more cash. He then got out of the vehicle and ran off.
Police reviewed the taxi’s CCTV 66
possession of a bladed article in a public place.
footage and identified Lycett, who was arrested four days after the robbery, on August 17. The clothes he was wearing when he committed the offence were seized at his home address in Rochester. Lycett was later selected by the victim during an identification procedure and was charged with robbery and
He pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and on Friday 12 November, he was sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment, with an extended licence period of four years. Lycett will have to serve two thirds of the prison sentence before he is eligible for release. Detective Constable Dan Bister said: “Lycett is a violent offender who thought nothing of arming himself with a weapon and threatening to harm his victim. “Taxi drivers should be able to go about their business without fear of being robbed of their hard-earned money at knifepoint. “Chatham is certainly a safer place now this dangerous criminal is behind bars.”
DECEMBER 2021
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