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Undercover with minicab operation
Giving in to the temptation of taking an illegal cab could have terrible results. SIOBHAN LISMORE joins police determined to crack down on them.
It is midnight on Friday and I am out on Northcote Road. But I am not emerging from a dimly-lit cosy restaurant or heading for a killer last cocktail at Inequity. I am instead standing next to an abandoned people carrier, surrounded by police officers from the Transport Operational Command Unit who are on an undercover mission to tackle the problem of unlicensed minicab drivers.
During the course of the night, Acting Sergeant Charlie Baldwin, PC Matt Disney, PC Wendy Mitson and PC Cathy Lambe drive around in a people carrier with blacked-out windows.
Sgt Baldwin said: "People get desperate when they want to get home and even if we stop them, they will still go ahead. People are willing to put themselves at risk to get home, that's what it comes down to."
First stop is Clapham Junction, and this is where PCs Lambe and Mitson disembark and head up St John's Hill to see if anyone will offer them a lift, with us following close behind in our vehicle.
After about half-an-hour we move to Northcote Road, where almost immediately someone asks if we want a lift. A signal is made and the officers close in.
Only half-an-hour later, tout number two is spotted. He gets out of his car when asked, but doesn't hand over his keys, instead choosing to run up the hill and away from the officers, leaving his car abandoned and open.
Tout number three parks behind our people carrier while we are waiting for the second car-owner to return. A 29-year-old who is waiting for his official licence, he needs to make money and is worried about court costs. Officers spend almost 15 minutes calming him down.
Finally we get our last tout, who cheerfully co-operates and chats to officers, inviting them into his car, a black people-carrier.
Although it is no longer an arrestable offence to tout for customers, unlicensed drivers can still be summoned to court, where they could face a £250 fine and six points on their licence. And shockingly, between 70 and 80 per cent of unlicensed mini-cab drivers are actually working for a firm and simply pick up some people on their way to another job.
PC Disney said: "It is greed, that's what makes someone do it, but people should know that when they get into an unlicensed cab, the driver is not insured, and should something happen they are pretty much untraceable."
Last year, 140 people were sexually assaulted by unlicensed mini-cab drivers. The figure is high, but PC Mitson says the figure is probably close to 10 people a week, as not all offences are reported.
And this is just one of the dangers of the trade. Last Thursday, a man detained by officers was allegedly drunk and high on crack cocaine.
PC Mitson said: "In daylight if someone drove up to you in that state and asked you to get in the car most people wouldn't dream of it. But after a few drinks and at night time, people accept it."
For a licensed London minicab anytime text CAR followed by the area you are in to 60030.
3:40pm Friday 31st March 2006
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