Coventry cabbies demand extra security in taxis after driver held at knifepoint COVENTRY cabbies are demanding extra security in their taxis after a driver was held up at knifepoint.
The Coventry Taxi Association has requested an emergency meeting with Coventry City Council after a driver was robbed of all his cash in Foleshill last month.
As reported in the Telegraph on Tuesday, the quick-thinking victim managed to take a snapshot of the perpetrator on his mobile phone.
The photo helped police track down and arrest the offender, who was jailed for two years.
Imran Zaman, chairman of the Coventry Taxi Association, says that were it not for the victim’s cool-headedness in taking the photograph, the offender would have escaped justice.
He believes more should be done to protect taxi drivers, including the installation of CCTV cameras in vehicles.
The council says it is the responsibility of individual taxi drivers to install their own cameras but Mr Zaman insists drivers were told cameras would be put in cabs after metal security grilles were removed three years ago.
“The incident in August was not the first time a taxi driver has been attacked in Coventry,” he said.
“In this case the man was only jailed because, amazingly, the driver was calm enough to take a photo but in most cases people get away.
“I’ve been a taxi driver in Coventry for eight years myself and have been attacked once. That’s once too many.
“Taxi drivers are particularly vulnerable.
We are decent, hard-working people, just trying to make a living for ourselves.”
Mr Zaman says taxi drivers felt safer when all black cabs were fitted with metal security grilles.
But health and safety concerns led the city council to order all taxi drivers to remove the barriers in 2009, angering the taxi driving community.
Mr Zaman says drivers were led to believe that when the grilles were taken away, CCTV would be installed in taxis by the council instead, and he has called for a council meeting to insist CCTV is installed as a matter of urgency.
A council spokesman said: “We take the safety of drivers and passengers very seriously and with this in mind, the council has long been advising owners to get CCTV systems installed in their vehicles.
“Drivers have also been advised that CCTV systems need to be approved by the council to ensure that data protection requirements for drivers and passengers are met.
“Drivers should therefore take advice from the Council before installing a system so that they can be sure that the council will approve it.
“However, the cost of installing CCTV has to be met by the owners and not the council.”
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