Anyone who’s used taxis from time to time will understand how useful and convenient the services provided by Britain’s cabbies can be. What other mode of transport is there, on demand, 24 hours a day, to take you exactly where you need to go?
So much more maddening and infuriating then that taxi drivers continue to be an easy target for a host of unprovoked abuse, attacks, robberies and fare dodging.
Taxi Watch
Determined not to put up Cabbies in Weymouth, Dorset, have teamed up with local police in a new initiative to fight crimes committed against cabbies. Dozens of arrests have already been made thanks to the new Weymouth Taxi Watch scheme and it’s proving so successful that it’s being demonstrated to other police forces.
The Scheme
The scheme involves local cab drivers sharing information with the police and security camera operators.
A number of cabs have already been fitted with radio equipment that provides a link from the taxi direct to the CCTV control room. This gives the police extra sets of eyes and ears, particularly at night when the streets are filled with drinkers.
The scheme’s success has alerted other forces and police in Newbury, Berkshire, sent a delegation to see how it worked.
The Weymouth and Portland Hackney Carriage Association is one of the main drivers behind the scheme and was part of the team that hosted the Berkshire visitors.
The Association’s Chairman, Nigel Richardson, who also happens to be Chairman of Weymouth Taxi Watch said: “Although Taxi Watch is still in its infancy, as a public safety partnership initiative with Dorset Police it continues to go from strength to strength.
“Taxi Watch continues to create a safer working environment for Weymouth’s taxi and private hire drivers, building on the links we already have with Dorset Police.”
Many Criminals who have Used Taxis are now being Arrested
Sergeant Dave Hughes of Dorset Police said: “In a short space of time the Taxi Watch Scheme has proved its worth. With the assistance of its members, many of the perpetrators who have used taxis and carried out assaults and criminal damage have been arrested. Without that valuable assistance those offenders may never have been brought to justice.”