Liverpool licensing chiefs must be given new powers to deal with the increasing number of criminals applying to drive taxis.
They have seen a rise in the number of people with five or more convictions applying for licences and say they need to act to stop the system getting clogged up.
Licensing chiefs are also concerned about the burden of processing the increase in the number of drivers who are losing their licences as a result of drink-driving and driving while under the influence of drugs.
Under current rules all would-be drivers with a criminal record, and those who must give up their taxi permit because of a driving conviction, must go before a licensing sub-committee.
But committees had to meet more than 20 times this year and judge more than 120 drivers – an increase on previous years.
A report put to councillors stated: “Each individual application with a criminal conviction will be considered on his/her individual merits by the panel ... in certain cases, the panel may consider it appropriate to grant a licence before the relevant period has elapsed, for instance when an offence is isolated and the circumstances of its commission are such that the panel consider it is not relevant to the applicant’s suitability.”
But it adds that in some cases, even if the conviction is ‘spent’ as defined under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, the council might still decide to refuse to give the licence.
Licences will generally be refused to people convicted of violent offences until 10 years after the date their sentence would have ended, even if they had been released from prison earlier.
And any driver under investigation for a sex crime will have his badge suspended straight away.
Now, the council wants to give the powers to make these decisions to officers to save committee time and “free up the panel to deal with more serious matters”.
City licensing expert Karl Barry said while it made sense that officers should rubber stamp cases where drivers had lost their driving licences due to drink and drugs, he was concerned about the discretionary cases.
He added: “Effectively putting decisions like this in the hands of individuals, regardless of the integrity of the current post holders, leaves the system open to corruption.
“The proper checks and balances need to be in place.”
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/licensing-bosses-need-new-powers-6410275
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