SECURITY STAKEOUT
OXFORD CABBIES TO BE FORCED TO INSTALL CCTV
Oxford’s 600 taxi driv- ers could be compelled to install CCTV in their cars to protect themselves and their passengers. The cabbies could be forced to have the £400 cameras fitted in their vehicles from as early as next year. They said it would make them and their passengers feel safer, although there were concerns about inva- sion of passengers’ privacy. Taxi driver Richard Barlow, 53, of Kidling- ton, told the Oxford Times: “I am all for it. It will hopefully encour- age more female passengers. We don’t get many females and if we do, they get in the back.
“Drivers are some- times accused of conversations and things that do not take place, so it will protect us. It will also reduce the chance of us being attacked. I don’t drive nights, but with CCTV, I would.
“I have been attacked three times, years ago when a cord was wrapped around my neck, and I have had people threaten me and grab me when they did not want to pay.” Tony Green, director of NPHA member 001 Taxis in St Aldates, Oxford, installed soft- ware in his cabs three years ago, to give the location of every vehi- cle and a panic button for drivers. He said: “It
is a good thing for safety. It is going to make the drivers and the passengers safer and that is the most important thing.” The City of Oxford Licensed Taxi Cab Association said it received reports of serious assaults on drivers - which result- ed in hospital treatment - every three to four months.
There were serious arguments between drivers and passen- gers almost every weekend.
Any new vehicles needing a licence from April 2012 must have the cameras fitted, but vehicles already licensed will have until April 2015 to have cameras installed.
JC CCTV PRESENT
TWIN CAMERA M9
Recording data in the memory card continuously (before and after a crash)
Easier to clarify the cause of an accident Resolve disputes more amicably
Makes accident investigation process more precise (traffic signal / lane violation, jaywalking, road bully, aggressive, reverse / careless driving, etc.) Drivers tend to drive safer with a recording device
EXCLUSIVE FEATURES
• H.264 Recording • 3D Gravity Sensor Recording
• Privacy Mode • Parking Mode • V Manager & Tracker Recording File Viewer
• Main Screen Image Swap (in & out)
• Various Playback Control
• Image Capture Image Print
• G-Sensor Graph WE ALSO DO RENT TO BUY OTHER SYSTEMS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST 0800 028 2624 PAGE 24 UK RIGHTS
CCTV SCHEME IS A SAFEGUARD FOR LEICESTER CABBIES
Sgt Sarah Widdowson with Bobby Gill from TeleLink Taxis in Belgrave
TECHNOLOGY RECORDS EVERYTHING INSIDE & OUTSIDE THE CAB
M9
Taxis are being kitted out with CCTV sys- tems to help keep drivers and passen- gers safe in Leicester. A total of 20 PHVs, from four city firms, are being given the cameras in an initiative backed by police. The force has bought the equipment, which cost £4,000, with the help of the Safer Leicester Partnership. Sgt Caroline Graham, of the city safeguard- ing team, told the Leicester Mercury: “Having CCTV in cabs can provide us with vital evidence when investigating inci- dents. They can deter passengers from mis- behaving but also offer others reassurance,
particularly women travelling alone.
“During our research, we found that a few hackney carriages had cameras so we decid- ed to focus on private hire operators.”
The taxi firms taking part are Telelink, City- line, Street Cars and StarTaxis.
Bobby Gill, 24, of Telelink Taxis said: “With cameras in the cab it is easier to pro- vide evidence to the police - otherwise it’s often just your word against theirs.” Mike Ward, NPHA rep- resentative and chair- man of the Leicester- shire Public and Private Hire Association, said: “I installed CCTV in my cab about nine years
ago. It cost me about £450 but has paid for itself many times over.” Mr Ward said that of the 338 hackney car- riages working in the city, only about half a dozen had cameras. He said of the 1,400 PHVs, he knew of hard- ly any with cameras. He said: “Drivers realise the benefits of having CCTV but are put off by the cost.” The money has come from the Government’s Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP), which has been set up to tackle knife crime and youth violence. If further funds are made available, the Leicester Cab-Cam scheme could be extended to other firms.
POLICE SUPPORT CCTV IN BRAINTREE TAXIS
The principle of put- ting cameras inside taxis has been sup- ported by police. Cabbies in the Brain- tree area hope cash-strapped coun- cils will dig deep to help them buy CCTV for their cars.
Braintree District Taxi Association said it was discussing the idea with Braintree Council and Essex County Council after several incidents when taxi drivers were threat- ened or assaulted. Inspector Chris Tyler,
of Braintree police, stressed the attacks had not increased recently, but he sup- ported the idea of the cameras if it promotes safety.
He told the Colchester Daily Gazette: “CCTV inside taxis is, in prin- ciple, a good way forward, as long as guidelines are fol- lowed and the equipment is of a good quality. It would make drivers and all those travelling in a taxi feel safer.”
Since last October,
one robbery and three assaults on taxi drivers have been reported to Essex Police in Brain- tree district.
John Ahmed, chair- man of the taxi association, said he believes the cameras would cost about £200 to £300 each.
He said drivers expect to contribute towards the cost themselves, but felt it would benefit the council in the long term because of the money it spends investigating such incidents.
PHTM MARCH 2011
THE
just
£185 +vat
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96
