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PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 7:27 am 
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Taxi drivers in Swindon welcome plans for CCTV

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news ... _welcomed/

TAXIS in Swindon might all need to be fitted with CCTV to have a licence from the council.

The council will meet next Thursday to discuss proposals that may make CCTV mandatory in all private hire and hackney carriage vehicles.

A report by the Licensing Authority said: “The installation of CCTV in licensed vehicles can be both a deterrent and would-be trouble maker and a source of evidence in cases of disputes between drivers and passengers.

“The Licensing Authority receives complaints and allegations regarding behaviour of a driver with passengers and sometimes complaints from drivers.

"Unfortunately, there have been occasions where a driver’s licence has been suspended or revoked, following investigations, due to inappropriate behaviour.”

There are currently four drivers who have recently retained their licences following serious allegations made against them after they agreed to have CCTV installed in their cars.

It added: “Officers are of the opinion the overarching principle behind the licensing of private hire and hackney carriage vehicles is one of public safety.”

Most taxi drivers are classed as self-employed but require a licence from the council to legally operate. However, there may be some concern local taxi drivers about extra cost this will have on them.

The council report added: “There may be a direct financial implication for individual licence holders arising from the proposal recommended by this report. However, it is considered that the benefits in respect of protecting both the public and drivers outweighs the financial implications.”

The Taxi drivers which spoke to the Adver appear to be fully behind the proposals.

Abdul Rumhid, who lives in Stratton, told the Adver: “It would make it a lot safer. We get a lot of problems from youngsters on weekends. It’s a good idea and would help the people working late in the night.”

Samater Mohammed, who lives on Broad Street, said: “CCTV is good for safety for drivers and for passengers. Most of the drivers here use it already. Friday and Saturday night, we can get aggressive customers, so I use it. I support the idea.”

Laval Carver, who also drives on weekends, said: “It’s definitely good for your safety. I don’t really need it because I’m quite safe in here. I wouldn’t mind, even if it costs me money.

“If you do nothing wrong you’ve got nothing to worry about. They will think twice before running away,” he added.

If the council agrees to the proposals all new vehicles licensed with the council on or after October 1 2018 will be fitted with CCTV following an 8 week consultation period.

Vehicles already licensed with the council will have until October 2019 to become compliant.

In October a taxi driver was jailed at Swindon Crown Court for 24 months for groping four female passengers over a four-year period.

In the same month three men were arrested following an unprovoked attack on an innocent 28-year-old driver who had taken the group from Cricklade Road to the Super marine Sports Club on a Sunday night.

All three were later released under investigation.


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 7:29 am 
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Quote:
A report by the Licensing Authority said: “The installation of CCTV in licensed vehicles can be both a deterrent and would-be trouble maker...

:-s

Quote:
Laval Carver, who also drives on weekends, said: “It’s definitely good for your safety. I don’t really need it because I’m quite safe in here. I wouldn’t mind, even if it costs me money.

:-s


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 7:30 am 
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Quote:
There are currently four drivers who have recently retained their licences following serious allegations made against them after they agreed to have CCTV installed in their cars.


Interesting.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:20 pm 
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StuartW wrote:
Quote:
There are currently four drivers who have recently retained their licences following serious allegations made against them after they agreed to have CCTV installed in their cars.


Interesting.

Maybe the serious allegations were unproven, yet had some degree of truth but not enough.

This way everyone's a winner.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 6:01 am 
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Sussex wrote:
StuartW wrote:
Quote:
There are currently four drivers who have recently retained their licences following serious allegations made against them after they agreed to have CCTV installed in their cars.


Interesting.

Maybe the serious allegations were unproven, yet had some degree of truth but not enough.

This way everyone's a winner.


not if the council insists on being the data controller and refusing to allow the release of images to protect customers from allegations by drivers :wink:

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:20 pm 
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edders23 wrote:
not if the council insists on being the data controller and refusing to allow the release of images to protect customers from allegations by drivers :wink:

That's what we have a police force for.

If a punter has done something to a driver, then the police are the ones that deal with it, and they will request the footage from the council and the council will forward it to the police.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 12:02 am 
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Sussex wrote:
edders23 wrote:
not if the council insists on being the data controller and refusing to allow the release of images to protect customers from allegations by drivers :wink:

That's what we have a police force for.

If a punter has done something to a driver, then the police are the ones that deal with it, and they will request the footage from the council and the council will forward it to the police.



Do not think the Council can be the data controller unless they are funding all costs of the cctv,if the proprietor of the vehicle pays for the cctv purchase costs they will be the data controller as they have to register the system.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 9:08 am 
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heathcote wrote:
Do not think the Council can be the data controller unless they are funding all costs of the cctv,if the proprietor of the vehicle pays for the cctv purchase costs they will be the data controller as they have to register the system.

Funding is not the issue, it's the control that's the issue.

1000s of CCTVs in taxi/PH, installed by professionals who are also the data controllers, but the driver/owner funds the units and installation.

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 7:24 am 
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Swindon CCTV advocate changes mind after court admissibility claims

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news ... -car-cctv/

HUNDREDS of taxi drivers in Swindon face paying £600 for their vehicle to be fitted with CCTV so they can get a licence from the council.

There have been discussions between Swindon Borough Council, Hackney Carriage and private hire companies on proposals to make the cameras mandatory.

But the idea has provoked a mixed reaction from drivers, as while it may improve safety and reduce crime, any footage wouldn’t be able to be used in any potential court case.

And data protection laws mean the camera footage will only be reviewed after complaints, rather than in real time.

A member of the Swindon Taxi Association who wished to remain anonymous was originally in favour but has since decided to oppose the bid.

He said: “I categorically do not want this policy put in place and I will fight its implementation to the end.

“The whole idea is to ensure drivers safety but if there actually was an event of criminality taking place in one of the taxis, the footage wouldn’t even be allowed to be used in court.”

There are also worries that if a driver were to lose the storage device of the CCTV unit in the event of a break in then they could potentially face the replacement costs.

A report by the Licensing Authority said: “The installation of CCTV in licensed vehicles can be both a deterrent and would-be trouble maker and a source of evidence in cases of disputes between drivers and passengers.

“The Licensing Authority receives complaints and allegations regarding behaviour of a driver with passengers and sometimes complaints from drivers. Unfortunately, there have been occasions where a driver’s licence has been suspended or revoked, following investigations, due to inappropriate behaviour.”

There are currently four drivers in Swindon who have recently regained their licences following serious allegations made against them after they agreed to have CCTV installed in their cars.

Kathryn Ashton, licensing manager at Swindon Borough Council, said: “We want mandatory cameras in taxis and private hire cars to have a policy put in place with time-zone conditions.

“There will be a consultation process to allow everyone the opportunity to speak and voice their concern.

“If this decision is passed there will be clear guidelines of what is acceptable, and a document will be created on approved fitters for the drivers.”

She added: “In theory this will reduce investigations for the licensing committee due to the passenger and driver both knowing the car is fitted with CCTV cameras.”

Other licensing authorities around the country such as Sheffield, Rochdale and Southampton have already made in-car CCTV mandatory.


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 9:01 pm 
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“The whole idea is to ensure drivers safety but if there actually was an event of criminality taking place in one of the taxis, the footage wouldn’t even be allowed to be used in court.”

I struggle to recall reading a more stupid statement on TDO than the one that brain dead buffoon uttered above.

If the police want footage from CCTV in cabs, they will take it, and the court will see it.

It's as simple as that.

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PostPosted: Sat Nov 02, 2019 1:33 pm 
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So they've take a year-and-a-half to get this far.

In the meantime the CCTV issue in Swindon was also covered in another thread about the stabbing of a driver there.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34470


Taxi CCTV to be voluntary in Swindon - for the time being

https://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/ ... on---time/

Taxi drivers in Swindon will not be forced to install CCTV in their cabs by the council – yet.

But they will be strongly encouraged to do so voluntarily.

And the borough council’s licensing manager Kathryn Ashton told councillors she hopes that the authority will be in a position to mandate the recording devices in all hackney carriages – the ones you pick up from a rank – and private hire cars which have to be booked beforehand.

But neither encouraging voluntary take-up nor making it compulsory is likely to go down well with drivers.

Members of the borough council’s licensing committee met to discuss the issue but were told by Ms Ashton that while there had been a 14-week consultation on mandatory cameras the matter had been shelved for the moment.

She said: “We are waiting for advice from the Department for Transport on mandating CCTV. There are issues of protection of the data if that happens, although I would say we are in favour of making cameras mandatory, for the increased safety of both drivers and their passengers."

Instead councillors were asked to discuss and vote on a resolution to encourage drivers to install cameras in their cabs. And if they did, they should sign up with the Information Commissioner’s Office code of practice on how to deal with the data.

Cllr Peter Watts asked: “If drivers did volunteer to have cameras, would we want them to have sound recordings or just pictures?

"If they had sounds, would they be able to turn it off if passengers requested?”

Ms Ashton said the licensing team would not expect drivers to fit sound recording equipment as well.

But neither move receives much favour from drivers.

Andy Lucas of the Swindon Drivers' Association said: “We are concerned about the cost. Across the fleet of taxis in Swindon, it wouldn’t be short of £1m. We are also concerned about whether this could jeopardise the contracts we have with other local authorities to transport vulnerable passengers.”

It emerged that four drivers in Swindon agreed to install cameras as a condition of keeping their licence after behaving inappropriately.


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 02, 2019 1:37 pm 
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Swindon rep wrote:
"We are also concerned about whether this could jeopardise the contracts we have with other local authorities to transport vulnerable passengers.”

Really? :-s


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:31 pm 
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StuartW wrote:
Swindon rep wrote:
"We are also concerned about whether this could jeopardise the contracts we have with other local authorities to transport vulnerable passengers.”

Really? :-s

Thick as pigs sh**.

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