Kirklees to decide whether to spend £28,000 of taxpayer cash fitting CCTV in taxis
Source:
http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-we ... -25399614/
DOZENS of taxi drivers could be protected from violent thugs by new CCTV cameras in their cabs.
Kirklees Council will decide on Friday whether to spend £28,000 to install cameras in 100 cabs.
There were 425 hate crimes against taxi drivers in Kirklees in the last year, as well as robberies, criminal damage and customers running off without paying.
A similar scheme in Sheffield brought down the crime rate against cabbies by 90%.
Taxi spokesman Amjad Nadeem is all in favour of the plan.
The secretary of Kirklees Hackney Carriage Association said: “This is welcome news. I’m sure the cameras will help the police gather evidence.
“In the last few years quite a few taxi drivers have been attacked in Kirklees and I’m aware of two cases where charges were dropped because of lack of evidence, so the cameras will help.”
Mr Nadeem, who regularly drives his taxi around Huddersfield at night, explained the dangers cabbies faced.
He said: “Drivers experience drunken abuse from customers and sometimes passengers walk away without paying. We’re fearful of what might happen, especially at the weekend. There’s always the thought of what the next customer will be like, whether they will turn against you.”
If the council’s Cabinet supports the plan, cameras will be installed in 100 of the 1,800 private hire and Hackney carriage cabs in Kirklees. Drivers who have been victims of crime would be given priority when applying for a camera.
The device would record an initial image as the customer enters the car. Drivers could then set the camera to record for eight minutes if they feared a crime was about to be committed.
Mr Nadeem said: “Every driver would be happy to put such equipment in his cab if the funding was available. The only down-side would be the cost.
“It’s something that drivers have talked about among themselves and a number of drivers have installed their own cameras.”
Kirklees licensing chief Clr Christine Iredale is in favour of the plan.
She said: “I think it’s an excellent idea. Taxi drivers do not have the easiest job in the world so it would be great if this makes them safer.
“Passengers are sometimes inebriated and can turn nasty. There have been several incidents of people being robbed at knifepoint.
“I think the safety of taxi drivers is paramount – they do a splendid and essential job.”
But Clr Martyn Bolt, deputy leader of the opposition Conservatives, is concerned at the cost.
He said: “This is being done at a time when Kirklees frontline staff are being told their jobs could be cut.”
Clr Bolt also questioned whether the CCTV cameras would discourage criminals. He said: “Do the cameras reduce crime or do they provide evidence in the event of an incident? If there’s not a real deterrent then it won’t help the poor taxi driver.”
Violence against Huddersfield taxi drivers
October 2009: A gang of four assault and rob a taxi driver in Moldgreen after refusing to pay.
July 2009: Three men rob a cabbie at knifepoint in Dalton
May 2009: Jamie Burlington-Kent, 17, of Bath Street attempts to rob taxi driver Rajatalat Khan at knifepoint in John William Street.
February 2009: Seven cabbies are assaulted and robbed in two weeks in Fartown, Sheepridge and Crosland Moor
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