Taxi Driver Online

Passengers hiring any of the 1000-plus fleet of taxis in Scotland's largest city could soon be caught on CCTV, amid concerns of potential legal action due to infringement of civil liberties and human rights.

The move, which is designed to enhance the safety of both drivers and the public, could be implemented by the end of the year and extended into the hundreds of private hire cars also operating in Glasgow.

The use of CCTV cameras and recording equipment would bring Glasgow into line with Manchester, Liverpool, Gateshead and London, as well as East Renfrewshire Council, the first authority in Scotland to permit their use.

A pilot scheme is also under way in Dundee, with the results expected in the coming weeks.

It comes on the back of a recent survey, carried out by the Scottish Government, which found one in three taxi drivers has been assaulted at work and the case of John Worboys, the London taxi driver, recently jailed for drugging female passengers by spiking champagne and then sexually assaulting them.

It is believed that he was responsible for almost 100 attacks.

Although the move has been welcomed by the trade it has been condemned by the city's Green councillors and city MSP Patrick Harvie, who said the party "remains completely opposed to creeping video surveillance of this sort".

Just last week reports claimed that some 500,000 requests for access to private e-mail and phone data came from public bodies in 2008 and that this included 1500 requests for surveillance powers from UK councils.

Ahead of any implementation, which, if agreed, will authorise it to permit the use of cameras in all cabs within its jurisdiction, the city council has warned that the move could lead to court action against it in terms of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Licensing chiefs are now set to begin a six-week consultation with the Information Commissioner, Strathclyde Police and representatives of the taxi and private hire car trades to discuss how the scheme could operate within the parameters of civil liberties.

One issue the council will have to confront is the type of system which would be used and the assurance that it could not be tampered with by third parties, including drivers, and the integrity of the recorded images contaminated.

The council said: "The installation of CCTV equipment in taxis and private hire cars may increase the sense of safety felt by passengers and drivers. Installation may also have a positive impact on reducing crime and antisocial behaviour. However, images captured must be stored in a way which maintains the integrity of the image.

"Protection to passengers and drivers due to the installation of CCTV cameras must be balanced against the potential infringement of civil liberties and human rights by the recording of a person's activities."

Trials in East Renfrewshire were carried out earlier this year, including one in the cab of a driver who had been the subject of a serious assault while working in January.

When a vehicle was fitted with a CCTV system, orange A5-size warning notices were fixed to the vehicle and the drivers asked to ensure that all passengers travelling in their vehicles were informed of the operation of the CCTV system.

No complaints have been received about the use of the systems and the council claims the scheme appears to have been welcomed.

But Mr Harvie said: "Most people have a common-sense expectation that they have some degree of privacy in the back of a taxi, and this proposal is likely to reinforce the perception that local councils are snooping on citizens as they go about their business.

"It's also worth noting that the paper contains no real justification of any kind - it simply states that such systems are technically possible and that some other local authorities have already gone down this route. That's not a rationale. If there was any clear argument that video surveillance in taxis is needed, it would be in the report."

But Robert Dunabie, of Glasgow TOA Taxis said: "This is an advantageous scheme for drivers and passengers. It will improve the overall feeling of security within the cab but it would have to be a system which drivers could not tamper with."

So this thicko tw** would rather drivers where attacked, and the attackers escaped justice.

I've said this on TDO many times, but CCTV is the way forward if we want to keep the 50 dead/murdered taxi/PH drivers in the last 15 years to 50.

And for a councillor to say it's such a breach of this that and the other says more about the pathetic nature of the Green Party than their opponents could in a million words.

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IDFIMH

They are fitted to all buses in Scotland FFS

cctv YES tec NO

btec i mean

Hi there,

This is my first post on TDO and now this topic seems to be the perfect place to begin.

Regarding CCTV for taxi’s, I run a company, Lothian Taxi Services, who are based in Edinburgh and have been appointed as agents for the VerifEye TaxiCam.

This topic has been discussed for a while now on an Edinburgh based taxi driver forum (under the thread driver safety) regarding these systems being installed in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

This TaxiCam system is the market leading in terms of advancement, security, technology and image quality. The manufacturer, VerifEye, this is what they do. This system isn’t an amalgamation of parts bought from china or from Maplin. This system has been designed with the taxi trade in mind.

65,000 systems have been installed worldwide in over 90 cities and 20 countries. The TaxiCam has been voted best in class by many of the authorities which it is installed.

The tamperproof system is designed to limit access to authorised personnel to ensure that any recorded images are admissible in court. Drivers have NO ACCESS to the recorded data to eliminate privacy concerns.
Only authorised installers are able to set the system up and have to have he equipment to do so.

The stored data cannot be accessed or damaged by passengers within the vehicle which means that even if the attacker damages the camera head within the vehicle, the images are still safe.

There are cheap systems available freely online for a couple of hundred pounds which will record your passengers in your vehicle. But to what ends, would it be admissible in court, I doubt it, would it be legal, unlikely.

This system has shown compliance with PCO and ICO recommendations as well as meeting and exceeding the minimum recommended specifications set out by Lothian and Borders Police for installation.

Undoubtedly CCTV within licensed vehicles is something that drivers are looking to now, especially facing the unfortunate upturn in violence and attacks upon them while just trying to make end meet.

These systems have been available worldwide for some time now and also down in England, Now the cabbies of Scotland can be afforded another level of protection.

This topic is something I feel quite strongly about, not just from a business perspective, but I have been there and driven taxi’s and private hire cars, I know what can happen.

I’m happy to discuss the aspects of the system we offer to anyone seeking more information or demonstrations. Our website and that of the manufacturer are full of useful and interesting information.

Regards

Andy

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http://www.lothiantaxiservices.co.uk
Suppliers of:
Rem Taximeters
VerifEye TaxiCam
Taxi Accessories

Hi Andy,

Welcome to TDO.

I can vouch for your companys quick delivery, I ordered a couple of those sun visor storage units from you last week and got them within 2 days.

Thanks!

GBC

There's got to be CCTV in every taxi within the UK ASAP. Since we had them installed attacks on drivers and runners have alomost stopped. What would people sooner have, attacks on drivers or CCTV to protect them??

It sounds like the chap in Station Blue's post has got something to hide.

You kind of get the impression that somehow it's the drivers that they want to watch.

Andy or sussex please give us a breakdown of the stats on these murders, preferably by ethnicity of driver, location, licence type and vehicle type because I refuse to accept that the information on fifty murders can't be collated into some semblance of order.

Why is it you lot always say that if someone objects to having their personal lives recorded in audio and video that "they must have something to hide", would you be willing to have these systems fitted in your homes so that you can be watched and monitored at all times?

Sounds about right to me.

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IDFIMH

Is that such a problem?

How many complaints to drivers get that are completely without substance?

CCTV will end that overnight.

And if there is substance, surely we want rid of those drivers. Don't we?

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IDFIMH

TBH I haven't the exact details, but Mr Roland of the NPHA has and I'm sure he would pass them on if asked.

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IDFIMH

Because I don't like dead taxi/PH drivers.

Because I don't like scumbag punters getting away with not paying and/or damaging taxi/PHVs.

Because I don't like innocent taxi/PH drivers going through hell waiting for a false accusation to be proved so.

Because I don't like guilty taxi/PH drivers getting off scott free.

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IDFIMH

your vehcile is where you work.

pubs.. clubs.. fuel stations.. buses.. trains.. heck bloody lot more places of places where poeple work

all they are Interesting in is the time of incident, and not your 24hrs personal life