Taxi Driver Online

If you remember Charlie from Bolton was asking for help I think, it went to court and the driver was found guilty, and has to do so many hours community service, but there was more charges he was found not guilty on, personally I think somebody made a balls up, but I think the licensing officer stating that it was civil matter in court did not help.

_________________
Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

That case was never reported in the press, I dont have any information on it. It would be interesting to read the circumstances?

The latest incident of Kidnap was the Swindon case which I reported a few weeks ago. I think we need to keep abreast of how the law interprets these types of cases because the CPS seem to think they are on a winner.

Regards

JD

I will See what can do

_________________
Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The driver had been Charged with1 kidnapped,2 rape.3 assault

Charge 3 was dropped

1 was found guilty

2 not guity

Yes female, No previous, he told her were he was takein her, no he did not phone the police.

i was a independent witness the council officer and police were called

The council officer told the court , that he advise drivers just to drop passingers off and right the money off.

The police officer said we would not advise drivers to take passingers to the police station, but to get there detailes and go though the civll courts or phone the police.

its time to give up we can not win, thay have us all way's

the police said we are not debt collectors.

a very fed up charley from Bolton

_________________
Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

not been in the paper and for one hope it never will.

the case was at the crown court, and yes he was represented

Yes he is a member of the BHA of which I am the Chair, and I have spoke to both his council and the solieter, both are of the opine, the problem is she did not get out the vehicle, so no offence was committed, did the jury think that to take a person to the police station was a lawfull reson to detain againstthere will, well they did not.

Would an appeal be sucefull, well i am told not. Ged what i CAN TELL YOU IS THIS I WILL DO WHAT I CAN BUT IT ALSO COME DOWN TO COST AS WELL.
_________________
C Oakes Chairman Bolton Hackney Association

_________________
Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

We can only speculate about the Bolton situation but here is an item from May earlier this year, which I never posted but it gives you an insight into the emphasis being placed on Kidnap?
...........................................................................

This is Worcestershire

May 9, 2006 Tuesday

HEADLINE: CABBIES KIDNAP FARE DODGERS

DATELINE: Worcester

TAXI drivers in Worcester are facing kidnap and assault charges as they take the law into their own hands over unpaid fares.

It has been revealed that several drivers have already felt the long arm of the law because of their frustration over the ever-increasing matter.

Now the Worcester Taxi Drivers' Association has called for an emergency meeting with police to seek advice on what they should do.

Anne Murphy, secretary for the group, said non-payment is a criminal offence, but officers did not see it as high on their list of priorities.

As a result, she announced that taxi drivers are locking people in cars until they pay or are getting into fights with them.

Ms Murphy said: "As far as we are concerned, someone refusing to pay up is a police matter, but they see it as unimportant.

"Worcester is now being seen as an easy target because people know there is nothing drivers can do. If they hang around at a scene, they are losing more money, and if they try to do something about, they are in danger of being arrested themselves.

"One man locked some people in his cab and took them to the nearest police station. He was arrested and charged with kidnapping.

Another got involved in a scuffle and was arrested for assault.

"We are trying to make an honest living here and a lack of police action is creating an awful lot of ill-feeling."

There are 311 registered drivers in Worcester, with more than 200 regularly working on Friday and Saturday nights. It is estimated that unpaid fares on both nights often go into the double, and even, triple, figures.

The Taxi Drivers Association has started to ask for fares up-front, but this in itself has led to disputes as people feel they are being labelled untrustworthy.

It has now asked to sit down with police to see what drivers should do to make sure they are not arrested themselves, and yet still receive their money.

Ms Murphy added: "Something has to be done before there is free-for-all in the city and chaos breaks out."

Worcester Police failed to comment on the problem, despite being contacted several times by the Worcester News, and being first asked for a statement last Friday.

.......................................................

JD I hope you appreciate this, two of three years ago Liverpool police arrested a Liverpool hackney driver for taking a passenger who would not pay to the police station, the Liverpool hackney trade surrounded the police station for two hours were eventually the driver was released without charge, the only reasons Liverpudlians are called whinges is because we stand up for ourselves..

_________________
Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

Well I do appreciate it but I can honestly say it wouldn't have happened in Manchester and perhaps in a lot of other authorities throughout the country.

I suppose that highlights the lack of solidarity in the trade in many parts of the country?

However it also highlights the need to find a solution to the charge of kidnapping when all a driver is trying to do is make sure he gets what he is entitled to?

Regards

JD

However it also highlights the need to find a solution to the charge of kidnapping when all a driver is trying to do is make sure he gets what he is entitled to?


I totally agree with you....


I have a mind to contact at least two of my local MPs, with the intention of them contacting the Chief Constable for Merseyside, a well worded letter would not go a miss pointing out the areas of concern......

_________________
Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

I'm pretty sure that bilking has been made an indictable offense a couple of years ago under the new criminal justices bill. This means that the police can follow up on the case after the offence rather than having to be called during the offence. So if you drop your passengers off at their home (as if...) then you can report the offence the next day and the police have to follow it up. Always make sure you ask for a CRIME number not an INCIDENT number!

_________________
kevin
http://www.monmouthtaxis.co.uk

Taken from Birmingham Councils newlsetter to hc and ph trade:


PASSENGERS REFUSING TO PAY
There are two very similar offences to consider given the case of a
passenger refusing to pay :

1. Bilking, officially known as 'making off without
payment', is by definiton : 'knowing that a service
is done (or goods supplied) you dishonestly made
off without having paid as required or expected
and with intent to avoid payment'. Contrary to
sections 3(1) and 4 of the Theft Act 1968.
This is straightforward to prove. If the passenger
makes off without paying, then as long as he/she
is 'of sound mind' there should be no problem
proving he/ she knew that payment was due at
the destination. They would have difficulty
throwing any other defence into the equation like
'i forgot to pay' , because one would imagine the
driver would not forget to ask or shout after the
passenger if they made off.


2. Obtain 'Services by Deception' which is
arrestable - meaning the police officer can arrest
at the time or at a later date. This is not limiting.
The definition is : ' by deception you dishonestly
obtain services from another and it is obtained
where the other is induced to confer a benefit on
the understanding it has been, or will be,
paid for'.
This requires a further element of proof, namely
that the passenger's actions are pre-meditated, ie
they had no intention of paying from the start of
the journey.

In view of the fact that the penalties are very similar
(see below), I would imagine that any police officer
dealing with the incident would crime the matter as'Making off without payment' (bilking) given the
burden of proof.
However, if the passenger is still in the taxi when the
police officer arrives and is still refusing to pay then
the offence disclosed is suspicion of deception as
pre-meditation would appear the case, especially if
the passenger has grossly insufficient funds to pay
the fare.
Before bilking was amended in 2002 by Section 48
of the Police Reform Act, bilking was 'not arrestable'
unless 'found committing'. The police officer
attending could only arrest if the offence was
happening in front of him/her., ie found committing.
A lot of the time this would not be the case. The
passenger had either 'long gone' or was still present
refusing to pay. Deception is arrestable. So
previously it would make sense to deal as per
suspicion of deception. This would enable arrest to
be made and from the Police perspective makes
dealing with the matter and enquiries easier. Now
that bilking is arrestable and easier to prove,
depending on the circumstances, the Police can be
more effective in dealing with the matter.
Those are the considerations with regard to arrest.
For reasons already stated, if the offender has
already run off then the matter would be dealt with
as a bilking in the first instance.There seems little
point in trying to prove the deception. The penalty
at Magistrates Court is the same (see below). The
offences are triable either way, meaning they can
both be committed to Crown Court, but the
likelihood of this happening is very slim. That is
where the potential penalties differ (see below), but
even if that were to happen penalties in practice are
still similar.
Penalties :
Both are triable either way. If heard at Magistrates
Court - penalties are the same for both : 6 months
imprisonment / fine not exceeding the statutory
maximum, ie £5000.
If indicted, bilking carries 2 years, Deception carries
5 years.
Actions drivers can take :
You (the driver) should phone the police. You can
lock the car and/or transport the passenger to a
police station, but if you choose to do so you must
be aware you are making a citizen’s arrest. You need
to be clear on the offence you are arresting for and
tell the offender you are taking this action.You have
the right to arrest an offender committing an
arrestable offence. In order to do so you can use
reasonable force. This, in broad terms means you
can only use force if the offender is resisting, and
can only use sufficient force to apprehend. This is
quite complicated and subjective- be aware that if
force has to be used I advise do not do so. Firstly you
run the risk of injury to yourself and damage to your
vehicle, and secondly, if you injure the passenger,
you could be prosecuted for assault. You have to
account for the amount of force used. Given the
offence is not a serious one it is not worth trying to
use reasonable force. If it gets to that stage let
the offender make off and report the matter
subsequently.

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/Media/Driv ... 202005.pdf

_________________
kevin
http://www.monmouthtaxis.co.uk