90 PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY
SECURITY STAKEOUT
BEDFORD CABBIES TOLD THERE’S NO MONEY FOR CCTV
Taxi drivers who called on the Town Hall to give them more protection from violent attacks have been told there is not enough money for CCTV cameras in all cabs.
Driver representatives met councillors at Bed- ford Borough Council last month and warned that unless action is taken to ensure their safety there will be areas of town where they won’t go after dark.
The protest came after an Eagle Cars driver was seriously injured in an assault in Cran- borne Close. Tajrur Rahman, secre- tary of the Hackney
Carriage Association, told the Bedford Times: “Recently there have been issues regarding the safety of drivers at work.
“Where is our safety? We have none. There are no byelaws to pro- tect us, it took three hours for the police to respond.
“What can the council do with the police in response?”
Cllr Roger Rigby (Con, Bromham) spoke in support of the drivers’ firms, and called for the council to fund CCTV cameras in all private hire vehicles.
He said: “Hackney car- riages are given a Government grant to
get CCTV, private hire drivers are not.
“Can a fund be made available to get CCTV screens in their cabs? “We have reserves of £1.2 million. I think the taxi drivers do a very difficult job and are very important.
“How many of us would drive around at night with £100 in their pock- et, picking up strangers who may be drunk or on medication?
“I do hope you will work with me to find some funding.”
But Cllr Bob Elford, portfolio holder for administration and licensing, said that each CCTV unit costs £500 - and, with 500 pri-
vate hire vehicles licensed in the bor- ough, he does not have the funding available to pay for cameras in all cabs.
Cllr Margaret Davey, portfolio holder for community safety and law and order, said the council took driver safety very seriously, but during the recent attack there were no police officers available within the 30-minute response time.
She said: “Drivers themselves need to report any incidents, no matter how insignifi- cant, to the police so we can build a picture of where these assaults happen.
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“Police do not wish to use valuable resources in crime-free areas. “It is unfortunate in the society we live in, that we have to take protec- tion against the minority and it is very sad that society has deteriorated in this way.”
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Mmm... We would be most interested to find out from the Conserva- tive Councillor from Bromham, exactly where he got the information that “hackney carriages are given a Government grant to get CCTV.” Since when?! – Ed
CCTV CAMERA PROPOSAL FOR LUTON
CCTV cameras could be installed in Luton taxis to stop drivers being attacked - but two cab firm bosses say the measure won’t tackle the root of the problem.
A potential pilot scheme has been pro- posed for private hire cars.
Luton Borough Coun- cil says drivers suffer harassment, assault, fare evasion and ver-
bal abuse, but that incidents are often not reported by drivers. But George Austin, who runs private hire firm Circuit Cars in Stopsley,
told the
Luton News that the scheme would not fix the underlying reason for drivers being attacked.
“The ones you find having trouble are what are called ‘fly- ers’, who are private
hire drivers who are picking people up on the street when they’re not supposed to,” he said.
“If you pick up the cor- rect fare you’re unlikely to get attacked. There are lots of incidents that aren’t reported because the driver would get into trouble for not operating prop- erly.
“The council needs to enforce it more.”
SNAPPING ROWDY FARES IN HEMEL HEMPSTEAD
Cabbies picking up rowdy late night cus- tomers will be protected by new cameras fitted inside their cars.
A surveillance device has been placed in ten taxis that cover late shifts in Hemel Hemp- stead. Funded by the Commu- nity Safety Partnership (CSP), the trial scheme was launched recently to give taxi drivers bet- ter protection.
Cameras will be fitted
in a further ten taxis at the end of the month and each will display a window sticker alerting passengers to its pres- ence. CSP chairman Council- lor Colette Wyatt-Lowe told the Hemel Hemp- stead Gazette: “We take all reports of abusive behaviour seriously and are committed to ensur- ing the safety of taxi drivers in Dacorum.” The cameras will take photographs every two
seconds and if the driv- er is in danger he or she can press a hidden button to store the images. Herts Police and Dacorum Borough Council will be able to download the images to use as evidence. Councillor Wyatt-Low said: “The constant presence of camera surveillance in vehicles should make the minor- ity of passengers who do cause trouble to think twice.”
JANUARY 2009 Public Hire&Taxi Drivers
DOSOME OF YOUR PASSENGERS TRY TOAVOID PAYING THE FARE?
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