A group of private hire cab drivers in Bradford are calling upon the Council to part fund in-cab CCTV equipment to benefit the safety of the city’s drivers and also members of the public.
A Safer Private Hire Community
Bradford Private Hire Liaison Service initiated the appeal after recent eye opening coverage of child exploitation in close by areas such as Rotherham and Rochdale.
The trade revealed that they’ve been told by parents that the news has made them wary of sending their children in cabs without parental supervision.
Chairman of the Bradford Private Hire Liaison Service, Khurram Shehzad, said: “Some parents are really worried because of all the child sexual exploitation where taxi drivers have been involved. They say, ‘We don’t want to send our kid on their own’, and I don’t blame them.”
Mr Shehzad believes that CCTV would act as a deterrent and help combat the issue.
So much so, that he has installed CCTV into his whole fleet of cars, which he and his drivers are paying for out of their own pockets.
On top of this he also says that the devices will help support the drivers if false accusations are made and will act as evidence if they’re victims of robberies or assaults.
Subsidising Costs
Appreciating that not everyone is in the position to afford the £110 unit, Mr Shehzad is urging the council to subsidise the cost. He says that money will be saved in other areas such as noticeably shorter investigation times due to evidence.
Confidentiality
Understandably, due to the lack of information, not all of the taxi trade are as enthusiastic and there is a concern over infringement of confidentiality.
Member of the Independent Private Hire Association of Bradford, Nadeem Ahmed, commented: “We make personal calls in our cabs. Presumably all of the recordings would have to be kept for a period of time but who would be allowed to listen to them?
“It all becomes a bit of a minefield really.”
Unlikely to be Successful
Bradford Metropolitan District Council said that the topic has been discussed at previous committee meetings and it was agreed that the in-cab CCTV was unlikely to be a successful deterrent for criminals.
Councillor Val Slater said: “I know certain councils are making it compulsory to have CCTV in cabs. We’ve discussed that and didn’t think it was appropriate because there are some drawbacks.
“Councils are making it compulsory, to cut down on child sexual exploitation, but I think somebody that is going to commit child sexual exploitation would switch off the cameras or pretend they weren’t working.”
Despite having her concerns over the idea, Councillor Slater said that she was willing to discuss the issue with cab representatives at the next meeting.