Taxi Driver Online

Council orders cabbie to rip out CCTV monitoring system


A TAXI operator who installed CCTV in his cab to help curb racist attacks has blasted the council for forcing him to remove it.

Eddie Black, 60, who operates a black Hackney and was a taxi driver for 25 years before retiring, made the move to protect the driver of his cab.

Dad-of-two Nadeem Hussain, who has been working for Eddie for 15 months and has been driving taxis for eight years, said he has suffered several incidents of racial abuse while at work.

The 39-year-old from Rutherglen said he felt the situation improved significantly when the CCTV system was in place because customers knew they were being recorded.

Mr Black installed the £550 CCTV system in his cab on April 15 this year.

The council's licensing inspection team failed the taxi in June because of the CCTV and the stickers on the vehicle which said it had surveillance in it.

It meant Eddie had to remove the cameras if he wanted to keep the cab on the road.

Glasgow City Council does not allow surveillance equipment in taxis, but bosses are reviewing the current policy.

Mr Hussain said: "I shouldn't have to put up with being abused at work.

"I have to put up with comments about Muslims.

"Eddie said he was going to install a CCTV system because I was getting so much grief."

Mr Hussain said he was "grateful" to his boss for making a stand.

He said: "I had the unit for about three months. It was fantastic.

"People changed the way they were with me in the car because they knew they couldn't get away with the same things.

"The Information Commissioners' office has guidelines on what you're supposed to do to operate the system.

"We followed everything to a T.

"The system is encrypted and unaccessible, and password protected as well.

"Patons, the company it came from, are the data controllers, and footage would only be accessed if there was an issue."

The system consisted of four cameras; one pointing ahead, one looking back, one pointing at the driver and another looking onto the back seats.

Mr Black from Knightswood said: "It's a godsend for the police, it's a godsend for the passengers as well as the driver.

"If somebody wants to make a complaint about you it's on camera. That happens regularly in the taxi trade.

"Night clubs have cameras. So do corner shops and pubs. So why can't we?

The row erupted after another group of cab drivers called for CCTV to be allowed in city taxis.

As reported in the Evening Times last month, The Scottish Ethnic Private Hire Welfare Association, which represents nearly 150 ethnic minority drivers, said their members needed to feel safer at work, after experiencing racism and hate crimes.

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: "We have been looking at the arguments for and against adopting CCTV in the taxi fleet for some time - and the proposal is included in a review of policies that is currently underway."

source: http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/coun ... n.21797675

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

And the problem is that council's invariably exercise their discretion in favour of the customer.

But there again, who in the trade, other than the drivers themselves, cares about those who actually do the frontline work in the trade.

Drivers are expendable. There's a ready supply following on behind.

That's why operators' licences are restricted, rentals are higher than the market can bear, and drivers are working longer and putting the public at risk.

This is SNP Scotland folks!

Rather than the promised land, Salmond is leading us all into a Hell he controls.

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Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

I think it should be upto the driver of a cab if he wishes to install a CCTV system to help protect himself and the customer.
As for Jasbar raving on again, get a life min. All the problems are the fault of the SNP??
VOTE YES IN 2014

Glasgow is a Labour council and has been as long as I can remember.
But don't let the facts get in the way of a bitter rant.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Clearly Glasgow Council are on par with St Helens.

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IDFIMH

There is nothing in the 1982 act that says you cannot have cctv, in fact allegedly its encouraged

Glasgow Labour council are a law unto themselves and always have been. Attitude has always been if you don't like it just hand your license back in. At one time you weren't allowed to have a normal radio in the cab to listen to the footie, @rseholes the lot of 'em.

Maybe not but I bet it's covered by other legislation somewhere, they can probably write it into the byelaws.

If licensing have a problem with mine (just gone through the pit with it stuck to the windscreen and nothing said) I'll tell them it's not CCTV for filming passengers but a 'forward facing journey recorder' to capture evidence in case of an accident. I won't tell them that I spin it round when I get a dodgy passenger though

I've heard reports from one or two drivers that their insurance companies are specifiying that 'dash-cams' are required to get cover - I can see it becoming more of a requirement in the future much like the 'we don't insure cars over ten years old' is becoming more common.

I reckon the reason for this is akin to Corporal Jones's "they don't like it up 'em Captain Mainwaring".

Fact is, when you have councils who will revoke licences based on unsubstantiated uncorroborated "evidence", a driver's only defence is to video to protect their rights. So, get on and do it ... tell them Jim Taylor said to do it. lol

City of Edinburgh Council ignored my rights. And I have videoed them doing so.

Watch this space!

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Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

Aye, watch this space also regarding unsubstantiated uncorroborated evidence or indeed accusations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji-ynv_foG8

Pathetic really, charged with assault, cuffed, transported from Howden hall Police station to saint Leonards, no seat belt offered because prisoners are not entitled to them apparently! finger printed and palm prints, DNA swabs the lot!

Taken back to Howden Hall Police Station with my seat belt on this time because cuffs had been removed after they had been through their procedure, back to taxi with the £300 damage that the ladies? feet and fists had inflicted upon it, no attempt to recover the £16.85 fare, I think that's taxi fare fraud, no mention of the damage sustained to vehicle, game set and match to those three assailants, or so they think!


Kind of reminded me of Winston in room 101 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3U83QLoATU