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| Big Brother CCTV plans for night cabs http://taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13651 |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Mon Mar 15, 2010 1:47 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Big Brother CCTV plans for night cabs |
Big Brother CCTV plans for night cabs Plans are being considered to install CCTV cameras in Preston's fleet of night-time cabs. Council licensing chiefs and police want crime-catching cameras to be installed in as many of the city's 190 hackney carriages as possible in a bid to improve driver safety. The idea was raised at a meeting of trade chiefs and officers earlier this month which was called to discuss a rise in serious assaults on drivers. Police believe it would provide solid evidence against attackers and help ensure more people are convicted. Trade bosses are now consulting with drivers before reporting back to the council and police at a meeting later this year. Potential funding is being looked at already and if the idea proves popular it will be taken forward. Mark Selley, secretary of the Preston Hackney Carriage Association, said: "We met with a couple of officers from CID and a couple of officers from council licensing to discuss serious incidents of crime against taxi drivers. "The police would like to see more cabs with CCTV because it would greatly assist with prosecutions. The council are in line with the police on this. "What we said was we would speak to the trade. Anything that makes the driver's working environment safer has got to be welcomed. "We have committed to meet with the council and police in a few weeks and by then we will be able to paint a picture of what the trade thinks about this." He said drivers would be consulted on who already had CCTV, how useful it was and whether drivers would be willing to install the systems if funding was available. Det Sgt Bridget Gilmore, of Preston CID, said: "We are looking at the advantages of CCTV in certain taxis for the protection of the drivers, for the protection of the public and for evidence of any offences that come from that. "We don't want to tell drivers what they have got to do. What we are asking is if there is funding available what would be reasonable bearing in mind the advantages you get?" If the plan goes ahead it would make Preston the latest council area to introduce CCTV across its taxi fleet. Areas such as Pendle in East Lancashire, Southampton and parts of London have all taken the measure forward. It comes following a number of assaults of hackney carriage drivers in the city in recent years. In January, a father-of-six, who had been driving cabs for three years, said he would never work the city's streets again after his ear was bitten off by a passenger in an early-morning attack. Coun Pauline Brown, vice-chairman of Preston Council's taxi sub-committee, said: "It is not just for the protection of taxi drivers, it is for the protection of the public. It has gone down very well in other areas. "I know some taxi drivers might think it is intrusive but, particularly for night-time drivers in the city centre, I think it would be a very good thing." source: http://www.lep.co.uk/news/Big-Brother-C ... 6151401.jp |
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