trigot wrote:
i find it hard to comprehend why some of these folk would even attempt to apply for a taxi permit with a record like that...
Not really, if you recall the Glasgow story from June this year:
BLACK CAB KILLER
A TAXI driver who stabbed a 17-year-old to death while three times the drink drive limit is back working as a cabbie. Council bosses granted Samuel Docherty, 45, a licence to drive his black cab - despite police objections.
Docherty was charged with murder but served four years after admitting the culpable homicide of Charles Hutcheon. At the time of the killing, he was driving for a private hire firm. After his release from prison, he bought a black cab and works from the rank at Queen Street Station in Glasgow.
His victim's family and justice groups condemned Glasgow City Council for allowing Docherty, who is still on licence for the killing, to drive the taxi. Charles's mum May, 47, said she and husband Alex only found out Docherty was free when a relative got into the killer's cab. The care worker said: 'What if my husband and I had got into the same taxi, imagine the shock for us.
'We were not told by the authorities that Docherty was out of prison. 'I thought you could not get a taxi licence if you had any criminal conviction never mind one for stabbing a man to death. 'Our son was a young man with a bright future which was taken from him. 'We were told by the Procurator Fiscal that they agreed to reduce the charge from murder to culpable homicide because Docherty had only stabbed Charles once.'
Dad Alex, 48, a gardener, said: 'Docherty is not a fit and proper person to be allowed to drive a taxi. 'If you asked the general public, I wonder how many would use a taxi knowing the driver was a convicted killer. 'This man took a young person's life in a fit of rage. Who is to say he won't do it again if he gets into an argument with a passenger. 'Jobs that involve working with the public, like a taxi driver, cannot be open to people with convictions.'
The police check on all taxi drivers when they apply for or renew their taxi licences. A Strathclyde Police source said: 'We did not want this man to get a licence.' A police spokeswoman said: 'The Chief Constable has the power to bring to the attention of the licensing committee any concerns or reservations he may have over applicants. 'However, the final decision to grant a licence lies with the council.'
On the day of the killing, Docherty had argued with youths including Charles outside his home in Cranhill, Glasgow. Docherty picked up a seven-inch knife from his kitchen and ran outside to plunge it into the young warehouseman's side. Charles's main artery was punctured. He died six hours later at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
At the time of the attack, Docherty was three times the drink-driving limit. He admitted his guilt at the High Court in Glasgow in November 1999. Edgar Prais, QC, defending, said the incident on August 8, 1999, had been a 'terrible tragedy' for the victim's family and the Dochertys. But trial judge Lord Cameron said Docherty had stabbed an unarmed youth to death. Charles's elder brother Derek, 25, said: 'This man ran into his home to get the knife that killed my brother. It was premeditated.'
Victims group Search For Justice condemned the decision to give Docherty his licence. Spokesman Les Brown said: 'A man with a conviction for culpable homicide is not a suitable person to drive a taxi.' Conservative Party justice spokeswoman Annabel Goldie said: 'The public need to be reassured that councils are acting in their best interests.'
Last night, a council spokesman said: 'Each case is treated on its own merits. 'If we are told that a person applying for a licence has previous convictions, then the driver would be called before the committee. He would be able to have legal representation and a chance to put his case. 'The council would also examine whether the conviction had any direct bearing on his ability to be a taxi driver.'
Docherty's mother Helen, 70, who lives in Cranhill, defended her son's right to be a taxi driver. She said: 'My son has served his time and is entitled to work as a taxi driver to provide for his family.' Docherty could not be contacted yesterday for comment.
A woman who answered the door of his home in Ballieston, near Glasgow, said no one of that name lived there