A spate of attacks on taxi drivers in Dudley has led to calls for CCTV to be fitted into cabs by taxi bosses who are worried about the rise in assaults on their drivers.
Dudley Private Hire and Taxi Association has been pressurising the council for over a year to allow cameras to be installed into hackney carriages and private hire cars, but are still waiting for a decision. Drivers claim that they currently feel unsafe after an increase in attacks, particularly at peak times during weekends and late at night.
More Protection for Vulnerable Drivers
“Taxi drivers are easy targets – they’re like banks on wheels and need a lot more protection.”
If the council gives the green light it would mean an extra layer of surveillance in Dudley’s taxis with the intention of capturing evidence of violent or abusive behaviour that could then be handed over to the police. It’s also thought that the mere presence of CCTV may be enough to deter would-be attackers from launching an assault in the first place.
However, drivers would have to pay for the cameras out of their own pockets as no council grants or subsidies would be made available.
Dudley Taxi Association spokesman, Shaz Saleem, is pushing hard for the decision to be approved by the council, describing it as an essential level of protection for drivers. He said: “At the moment, with these attacks, it would make drivers feel a lot more secure – taxi drivers are easy targets. They’re like banks on wheels and need a lot more protection.”
Horrific Assaults
While the cameras would capture more mundane cases of verbal assault or attempts to flee without paying the fare, the cameras are also intended to help prevent much more serious cases. From knife attacks, to a violent assault with a syringe that the assailant claimed was ‘infected with AIDS’, taxi drivers in and around Dudley are finding themselves at the receiving end of a worrying increase in serious physical attacks.
Taxi Awareness Day
To draw attention to the situation, the Dudley Private Hire and Taxi Association recently held a ‘Taxi Awareness Day’ in Stourbridge town centre, to help shine a spotlight on their concerns.
As well as demonstrating the necessity for greater security, the question of personal insurance for drivers against the financial consequences of an attack was addressed. The awareness day also discussed a broad range of topics such as how to assist wheelchair users, driver health and taxi drivers’ roles in notifying the authorities if they suspect that certain addresses may be being used for child exploitation.
The awareness day was well attended with around 500 people joining in the discussions. Also present was a representative of Dudley Council’s Taxi committee, who took the time to talk to drivers and discuss, in detail, the potential use of CCTV cameras in taxis.
A decision on the cameras is expected soon but in the meantime drivers can report incidents via Twitter using the hashtag #StopTaxiAttacks.