North Devon taxi drivers to be trained to spot vulnerable peopleNorth Devon Council is providing taxi and private hire drivers with information on how to recognise and report vulnerable people, such as exploited children or victims of slavery.
The new approach was supported by councilors at a Licencing Committee meeting last week and chair of the committee, Councilor Jasmine Chesters, welcomed the initiative.
She said: "People often think things like modern day slavery and child sexual exploitation are only urban problems. However, this is not the case. These kind of issues can occur anywhere and, as key community contacts, our taxi and private hire drivers could find themselves suspecting their passengers are at risk, but not really know what to do.
"We want to make sure they know what to look out for - perhaps a child is being picked up by an unknown adult, they're concerned about a passenger being controlled by another, or even unusual travel times to an unlikely place of work. There are so many scenarios and we hope drivers will take the opportunity to learn how to recognise the signs, to report their concerns and to hopefully help anyone at risk in the process."
The scheme will be further supported by the North Devon and Torridge Community Safety Partnership who are organising training for taxi and private hire drivers, along with other night-time workers, such as door staff and takeaway staff. It is hoped this training will be offered in the next two months.
Also offering her support for the initiative was Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Alison Hernandez.
She said: "Protecting vulnerable people in our local communities should be a priority for us all, so I welcome any ways of achieving this. Supporting the taxi and private hire drivers in this way is an excellent idea."
Read more at
http://www.northdevonjournal.co.uk/nort ... WPp1vpM.99
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