Taxi Driver Online

Very PR/commsy sort of stuff here, but obviously there's a lot like that around

But it's as difficult to get your head round all the various 'partner' agencies and the like involved than to actually gain any real insight into the specific trade stuff

But it almost reads like there were more different agencies and people involved than the actual number of cars checked

To be fair, I got to the stage of just brushing over most of it, so may have missed some important and insightful details


Multi-department collaboration sees hire vehicles checked across Warrington in night-time taxi operation

https://www.cheshire.police.uk/news/che ... operation/

Officers from Warrington Local Policing Unit, supported by colleagues from Cheshire’s Special Constabulary and teams from the wider force, conducted a night-long operation ensuring taxi and hire vehicles were correctly licenced.

As part of the work designed to keep residents and visitors in Warrington safe when out and about, officers were deployed across the town as part of Operation Confederation, ensuring the taxis were correctly licenced.

Whilst it is not illegal for taxis licenced in other areas to operate in Warrington, it makes it much harder for drivers and vehicles to be safety-checked by local authorities to ensure that they are suitable for transporting the public.

Over the course of the evening of Saturday 7 June, Warrington Neighbourhood Teams were out in force with representatives from Warrington and Wolverhampton Council enforcement teams, baseing themselves in the town centre and hotspot locations such as Warrington’s Bank Quay and Central stations.

As it was National Special’s Weekend, the team were also supported by officers from the force’s own Special Constabulary and their Merseyside Police counterparts, allowing the operation to cover the entire town on what was a busy Saturday night.

Over 27 taxis and hire cars were checked during the evening, with most of the regulatory breaches being minor.

Those in breach of their licencing were swiftly removed from the road and will not be allowed to operate in Warrington until these issues have been resolved.

Inspector Christopher Webster, of Warrington LPU's Neighbourhood Team, said:

"With the busyness of the summer months and several large events and festivals taking in Warrington and the surrounding areas, our Neighbourhood Policing Team have been deployed across the town centre as part of Operation Confederation, which focuses on ensuring licensed passenger vehicles such as Ubers and independent taxis are adhering to the terms of their licences.

“Alongside our colleagues from Roads and Crime and our partners from the Warrington and Wolverhampton Councils, we made the most of it being National Specials Weekend and utilised the support of our volunteer officers from both Cheshire and Merseyside. Their help meant that we were able maximise our visual presence across Warrington, providing reassurance to the general public where needed on a busy Saturday night in town.

"It was really reassuring to see that so many of the taxis that operate in our town were compliant with the appropriate legislation, with the few found to be in breach being swiftly removed from the road.

"Our officers will continue to support the legitimate taxi drivers in Warrington all year round, with this operation continuing well into the summer months to ensure those enjoying a night out in Warrington can return home safely."

Not the first time Cheshire Police have impliedly criticised Wolverhampton in that regard, although because Wolverhampton were involved in the operation they wouldn't want to spoil the PR imperative by saying it out loud


Is it just me, but a slight contradiction between the first and second paragraphs there?

Of course, some stuff like this seems to downplay the significance and number of any breaches, while others do the opposite.

The two paragraphs above arguably do both in the same news release

Interesting exercise in how this, er, exercise is framed - not sure where TaxiPoint has got its information from, but quite different framing from the official police press release above, and there's more detail about what was found, specifically, and the focus is obviously on the fact that three Wolves cars were 'pulled up', whatever that means, precisely.

But it's not clear whether they were among the three vehicles suspended. And in fact of the three 'suspensions', two of them were delayed.


Three Wolverhampton private hire vehicles pulled up for infringements after checks in Warrington

https://www.taxi-point.co.uk/post/three ... warrington

An evening taxi licensing operation in Warrington Town Centre led to the suspension of three vehicles and the detection of several motoring offences.

Officers from Warrington Town Centre Beat, supported by the wider Warrington Beat Team, Cheshire and Merseyside Special Constables, and enforcement teams from Warrington and Wolverhampton councils, carried out checks across several sites in the town centre.

A total of 27 vehicles were stopped during the operation. One private hire vehicle was suspended on the spot due to serious issues. Two more were issued delayed suspensions after further breaches were identified.

In addition to licensing concerns, police also dealt with a number of motoring offences. These included matters that fell under the remit of both Cheshire and Merseyside Police teams.

The enforcement action focused on confirming that licensed taxis were safe, roadworthy, and compliant with legal standards. Offences typically include problems with vehicle condition, missing or incorrect documentation, and breaches of licensing rules.

The presence of Wolverhampton licensing officers highlighted the issue of cross-border taxi and private hire activity. Many drivers licensed in Wolverhampton operate in Warrington, which can limit local council control. This operation enabled enforcement officers from both areas to deal directly with any cross-border non-compliance.

Actually first saw this on Sunday on the Warrington police Facebook page, as rehashed in the local press. But it was so vague and lacking in detail that I didn't bother posting it on here

And not so much then about the gamut of different agencies and people involved, thus quite unlike the official police news release a couple of days later

https://www.facebook.com/PoliceWarr/pos ... cale=en_GB

And another 'framing' issue with the official photo - not sure if all those trees, buildings and sky are really the best use of space

It's to justify the costs of manning these checks.

If he said it was a few bulbs and issues such as not showing their badges, the police hierarchy would question the need for such checks and the costs.

Clearly we have no bald tyres and iffy brakes, as they would have been highlighted.

_________________
IDFIMH

Well the TaxiPoint version did state one car was suspended for serious issues:


That's not to say you don't have a point about internal PR, sort of thing.

But that's consistent with what I always say about stuff like this - there are various target audiences, and various framings from various authors, depending on the intended recipients etc