SECURITY STAKEOUT
NO COUNCIL HELP ON CCTV IN WOLVERHAMPTON’S BLACK CABS
Taxi drivers in Wolver- hampton will not be getting any financial help from the city council for CCTV in their vehicles, accord- ing to the Express and Star.
The authority has revealed that it will not agree to a plea from the drivers to go 50-50 on funding cameras for more than 100 black cabs in the city. Wolverhampton Hack- ney Carriage Drivers’ Association, the group which wants the city’s taxpayers to pick up half the tab, has labelled the decision “very disappointing”. The association says that the cabbies need protection following
the fatal stabbing of a Birmingham taxi driv- er.
Nasim Ullah, secretary of the Wolverhampton Hackney Carriage Drivers’ Association, told the Express and Star: “Tensions are running high and we believed last week, as we do now, that there should be CCTV in the hackney carriages. “We pay the highest fees in the West Mid- lands area for having a licence to drive a taxi out and about, we want more value for our money and thought cameras would be the way to go.
“If people know they are being watched, they are far less likely
to resort to abuse. I am very disappointed by this decision. I don’t know what we will do now. We can’t possibly go it alone and needed the coun- cil to meet us halfway.”
The cost of funding CCTV across all the city’s black cabs would run into several thousand pounds. This would come at a time when the city council is shedding £40 million from the budget between now and 2011.
Tim Clark, spokesman for Wolverhampton City Council, said: “The council takes the safety of taxi drivers extremely seriously
and we are in regular discussions with rep- resentatives of the trade to discuss how safety can be improved for drivers and passengers alike. “However, it is no secret that the council is in a difficult financial position at the moment and there is currently no budget available that could fund a camera scheme like this.
“There is also a ques- tion over whether a licensing authority should be funding CCTV for taxis - which are, after all, private businesses - when we don’t do the same for pubs, clubs or other licensed premises.”
SAFETY FEARS TO BE ADDRESSED IN CARDIFF
A forum is to take place between taxi drivers and police offi- cers to address fears about driver safety at night.
Cab drivers say they face verbal abuse and physical assaults and at least two drivers have been badly beat- en up in the past 12 months.
Ch Ins Steve Murray told the South Wales Echo: “Taxi drivers have a challenging job at times and we appre- ciate the work they do in taking people, who are often intoxicated, home.
“Unfortunately inci- dents such as criminal damage, assault and verbal abuse can
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occur and I wish to reassure the taxi com- munity that they are investigated thorough- ly. These kinds of offences will not be tolerated and we carry out extensive inquiries to catch perpetrators.” The forum, called the Cardiff, Barry and Vale Taxi Partnership, will meet next month to discuss any con- cerns and measures to reduce crime. The Partnership is made up of police officers, local authority repre- sentatives and Cardiff Hackney Carriage Association. Repre- sentatives of all major private hire and taxi companies are invit- ed.
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