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Convicted taxi drivers spark fury
FIVE taxi drivers with serious criminal convictions are operating out of the rank in Hexham town centre.
Now fellow drivers have spoken out, worried about the damage it will do to their collective reputation.
The five – all granted licences by Tynedale Council – include a convicted drug dealer.
One incensed driver said: “Quite a few of us on the rank feel strongly about this. We can’t believe that guy, in particular, has got a licence.
“We are worried that this compromises our reputation in Hexham.”
All would-be drivers are subjected to thorough checks by the Criminal Records Bureau during the licence application process.
The details of all past convictions are then considered, along with the application, by Tynedale’s regulatory committee.
“The reason we are CRB checked is that we are picking up kids and vulnerable people,” said the driver.
“You can be doing a school run, or picking up young girls at night on their own to ensure they get home safely.
“My opinion is that anybody who has committed any type of drugs offence at all shouldn’t have a licence.”
That driver’s application had been considered during a committee meeting held behind closed doors, he added.
And when a Freedom of Information request was submitted by a newspaper keen to look at the details, it was revealed Tynedale Council had destroyed its records of all five questionable applications.
The Uk’s leading taxi industry publication, the Private Hire and Taxi Monthly, focuses this month on what is an issue of growing concern across the North-East as a whole.
It reports on an investigation that unearthed the fact 101 taxi drivers with convictions or cautions for firearms offences, indecent assault, dangerous driving, harassment, theft and assault occasioning actual bodily harm have licences to operate in the region.
Tynedale’s head of public protection and licensing, Philip Soderquest, confirmed that since October 2006 the council’s regulatory committee had granted licences to five applicants with previous convictions.
“While we are unable to give details of the specific offences, the committee is provided with the CRB disclosure at the time of the hearing,” he said.
“It considers each application, having regard to the individual circumstances of the case and the penalty imposed by the court.
“Ultimately the safety of the public is paramount and uppermost in the committee’s considerations when agreeing to grant a licence.”
After dealing with an application, the details of offences disclosed for this purpose were destroyed in line with the CRB Code of Practice, he added.
Members of the public concerned about the conduct of a taxi driver licensed by Tynedale Council should contact its licensing department on (01434) 652121.
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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin
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