Taxi Driver Online

This seems to have become flavour of the month in the local press in the last couple of years - FOI information on criminal backgrounds of *applicants* for taxi licences, most of whom probably don't stand a cat in hell's chance of being granted one. Although, to be fair, the council didn't disclose which of the applicants were actually granted licences.


REVEALED: Checks reveal potential Blackburn with Darwen taxi drivers' criminal pasts

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/ne ... nal_pasts/

KIDNAPPERS, paedophiles and fraudsters are among the criminals whose convictions were revealed as part of the process of applying to be taxi drivers in Blackburn with Darwen.

Figures released by the Disclosure and Barring Service under the Freedom of Information Act show 315 people with a total of 1,678 offences applied for a check as part of their bid to hold a licence to drive a taxi in the borough over the last three years.

But it is not clear how many of those 315 people were successful in getting a licence.

A separate Freedom of Information request to Blackburn with Darwen Council asking how many currently licensed taxi drivers in the borough have criminal convictions was unsuccessful.

Council chiefs said the cost of complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit of 18 hours of work.

Drug dealers, arsonists, robbers and violent offenders also applied for a check as part of their licence application, figures showed.

A total of 121 convictions for driving without insurance and 106 for driving while disqualified were also uncovered as part of the process.

One person was found to have a conviction for illegally possessing a gun.

A string of driving offences were disclosed, including 34 drink-drivers, nine convictions for driving without due care and attention, eight for dangerous driving and one for driving a taxi without a licence.

Fifty-five convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm were uncovered, as well as 54 for battery.

There were two convictions for indecent assault on a girl under 16, three for indecent assault on girls under 14 and one indecent assault on a boy under 14.

A Blackburn with Darwen Council spokesman said: “All new applicants for hackney and private hire drivers licences must submit a DBS check as the first stage in our application process.

“The DBS check we require is an 'enhanced' check – this provides full life history of convictions, including cautions.

"This provides more information than a standard check which only shows unspent convictions.

“Of the 315 with convictions, not all will choose to progress their application.

"They perhaps consider that what has shown up on their DBS limits their chance of being granted a licence.”

Any new applicants who have convictions are put before a general licensing sub-committee, where the application is considered.

Any driver who receives a conviction must inform the council.

In these circumstances a licence can be revoked immediately by officers if there is felt there is a serious risk to the public.

Less serious issues will be referred on to the next sub-committee.

DBS checks for licensed drivers are repeated every three years.

And most of the population in Blackburn are?

the chosen ones according to wikipedia

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Really poor journalism.

It could be possible none of them got licensed, thus the story could, maybe should, have been 'council succeed in restricted criminals from becoming taxi drivers'.

But that wont give baby journalists their buzz.

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IDFIMH

Harsh

But must be dozens of near identical pieces in local press over last few years. But, knowing how these things work, some could be the same newspaper regurgitating an updated version of the same article every year or two.

Formulaic, I think the critics say.

Or churnalism, some call it

Actually, that's unfair - churnalism requires less effort than the piece in question.