West Midlands Police are keeping Christmas revellers safe during the festive party season by clamping down on rogue and illegal taxi drivers.
As people head en masse to the region’s nightlife hubs between now and New Year, officers are targeting dodgy drivers who look to take advantage of high-spirited partygoers.
The operation focuses on regular drivers falsely posing as cabbies and private hire ‘plyers’ looking to pick up fares at the roadside which is against the law and puts the public at risk. Passengers accepting lifts from private hire drivers plying for business aren’t insured in the event of being injured in an accident.
And in the last two years West Midlands Police have recorded 75 sexual offences committed by drivers – often bogus cabbies – against lone female passengers. One sex assault victim – 19-year-old Sarah from Northamptonshire – has spoken of her ordeal at the hands of a fake cabbie and is urging other partygoers not to put themselves at risk.
Watch the video here: http://bit.ly/1j2ymhK
Police are stressing the importance of planning return journeys in advance, booking taxis before heading out, not drinking to excess, and staying with friends.
28 illegal drivers caught. It would take the 7 man Manchester Compliance team over 5 years to get that many fake drivers, thats why our sex offence rates are the highest in the U.K. per capita. (average 110 per year)
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