Taxi Driver Online

This is from an official council documents, but it's not the actual licensing committee minutes. It's from a report from a council 'portfolio holder'/cabinet member to the full council, and looks a bit like a cross between official minutes and one of those glossy reports where politicians tell everyone what a good job they've been doing - for a start, visit the link to the document and you'll see it's got a photo of the councillor at the top

Anyways, it's quite a useful wee summary of licensing matters, and one of the cases was featured on the Yorkshire Evening Post's website, and kind of caught my eye for the reasons stated below. So looked for the official document to see if it would shed any more light on what had happened, but it didn't, and can't be bothered looking back for the actual minutes.

But this is the whole of the 'taxi update' from the portfolio holder's report:


REPORT OF: Councillor Maureen Cummings,
Portfolio Holder for Communities Poverty and
Health

http://mg.wakefield.gov.uk/documents/s1 ... mmings.pdf

TAXI UPDATE

Between September and November there has been 74 incidents
investigated. Of these there has been 29 Accidents and 45
complaint investigations. Unplanned site inspections and have
been carried out stopping and checking vehicles. Monthly
partnership operations with Metro school contracts and West
Yorkshire Police have also been carried out.

Complaints and Investigations

• An investigation into a Private Hire Operator established that they were operating
illegally with the use of licensed vehicles outside the district. Involvement with two
other authorities and the owners resulted in a review of software and operating
processes to ensure the system and business was fully legally compliant.

• An investigation into a Private Hire Driver who sexually harassed a young female
on three occasions resulted in an immediate revocation of the driver’s licence.

• A complaint was received regarding a Hackney Carriage Driver who allegedly
locked a female passenger in the rear of his vehicle following a fare dispute. The
matter identified the driver had some difficulty understanding English and resulted
in a referral for development.

• A Private Hire driver had his license immediately revoked after it was discovered
he had been caught out trying to meet a child for sexual activity. The driver who
was licensed in Wakefield resided in Bradford was caught by an online group in a
set up in Leeds. He had been sending indecent images and actively trying to meet
a child for sex. He was arrested at the scene and the evidence was provided to
the Police. He will be unlikely to be ever licensed from Taxi and Private Hire
Licensing.

• A Private Hire driver had his license revoked after it was discovered he had beaten
two men in a Pontefract Pub causing ABH injuries. He was arrested and Cautioned
by West Yorkshire Police. The off-duty driver carried out what appeared to be an
unprovoked and sustained attack on two men who had been enjoying an evening
with their wives. The driver failed the suitability policy and will now be barred from
Taxi and Private Hire Licensing for 10 years.

• A Private Hire driver had his license revoked after he had been reported for
causing a road rage incident in Normanton. It was discovered he had carried out
an act of dangerous driving together with abusing a local female driver. Enquires
quickly revealed he had 7 previous warnings from the licensing department
including a final written warning issued by the licensing committee. He had been
deemed no longer fit & Proper to hold a license.

• A Private Hire driver had his license refused after he had accumulated excessive
points on his licence. He was also recipient of a complaint that he had been
watching tv on his phone whilst transporting a paying member of the public.

Spontaneous License Checks - Operators

• Following a series of spontaneous Operator license checks, it was discovered that
a licensed Operator was not keeping records properly. Staff were made aware of
the regulations and given guidance to ensure their records were sufficiently
detailed and met the council policy. The taxi office was not obtaining addresses or
phone numbers of hirers.

School Contract Checks

• Regular monthly partnership operations are taking place with officers from West
Yorkshire Combined Authority. Checks taking place with private hire vehicle & taxis
who are involved with school contracts.

Court matters

• Two appeals against the decision to revoke two driver’s licence were scheduled to
be heard at Kirklees Magistrates Court on Friday 10th December. Preparations
were made to defend the appeals but both appellants subsequently withdrew their
appeals prior to the Court date, one of which was an revocation under the Public
Interest Immunity Process.

• The licensing department are currently defending six additional appeals against
revocation of licence, and a further appeal at the Crown Court which we are
confident will be successful.

This was the one headlined in the Yorkshire Evening Post, and there's definitely something wrong here, in my opinion at least.

Either he's been dealt with unduly leniently by police, having simply been cautioned for an 'unprovoked and sustained [ABH] attack' on two men.

Altenatively, he's been dealt with unduly harshly by the licensing committee, having been barred for ten years for something that police dealt with via a caution

By the way, this is why the Yorkshire Evening Post article caught my eye - look at the headline and strapline, which obviously makes it read like a serious assault. But the article then rehashes the council report above, and it's only then you discover the driver was simply cautioned by police


Taxi driver loses licence after ‘unprovoked and sustained attack’ on men in pub

https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/ ... ub-3522153

A taxi driver had his licence revoked after he assaulted two men in a pub in an apparently “unprovoked and sustained attack”, a council report has revealed.

[...]Coun Cummings, who is Wakefield Council’s Cabinet member for communities, said the man had been cautioned by police after the incident.[...]

So how the f*** are the drivers meant to find them then?

_________________
IDFIMH

The former, and it drives me mad.

Cautions for ABH (an either way offense, can be dealt with at the Mags or the Crown Court) can only be issued by a senior officer in the rarest of occasions.

These cautions are often reviewed by a panel of JPs, solicitors, CPS, and senior police officers. I suspect that one will be.

Although the outcome will not affect the defendant, but could affect the promotion prospects of that senior officer.

_________________
IDFIMH