British Transport Police (BTP), Network Rail and Unite the Union (Cab Section) are launching a new scheme at Leeds station aimed at improving the safety of taxi drivers and passengers who use their services at the station.
The ‘Taxi Watch’ scheme, will aim to help prevent crimes being committed against drivers, who, due to the nature of their work, can often be the victim of violence, aggression and criminal damage, sometimes racially and religiously motivated.
Every driver will meet an officer and be given a text 61016 card so that they can report any incident direct to BTP. Officers will be undertaking high visibility patrols at the taxi ranks at key times, including in the early hours of the morning when incidents have been reported and will also hold regular meetings with the drivers to discuss any concerns and issues. Posters will be placed in and around the station and at the taxi rank, and stickers will be placed on taxis that use the station outlining that any aggression or violence towards drivers will not be tolerated, that CCTV is covering the area, and there will be a police response.
The main aim of the scheme is to build a stronger relationship between the drivers and BTP to continue to ensure that the taxi area of the station remains a safe and a positive environment for everyone, that BTP provide an increased security presence for drivers and passengers, and to raise public awareness by adopting a zero tolerance policy to tackle violence against taxi drivers.
In September last year a taxi driver was assaulted by a man who demanded he take him home, even though he had another passenger in the car. When the driver refused the man became verbally abusive, swearing and threatening the driver before kicking the side of his taxi. When the driver got out to check the damage he was hit in the face by the man. The man was then dragged away by someone he was with and both fled the scene.
In January a taxi driver was racially abused and attacked by a passenger outside the station. After he was asked to join the back of the taxi queue by the driver when he attempted to push in, the man shouted racist abuse at him before kicking the wing mirror off his car.
When the driver got out of the car, the man punched him in the face leaving him with a bloody nose, bruising and swelling. He was arrested and was found guilty at court, where he was ordered to pay £750 in fines and compensation.
Chief Inspector Lorna McEwan from British Transport Police said, “Since January 2017 we have recorded 15 offences against drivers at the station, that’s on average one a month which is just not acceptable.
“We have also surveyed drivers who use the station which shockingly revealed that 69 per cent said they have been threatened or attacked, 53 per cent of these incidents took place at night or on a weekend.
“We already have a great working relationship with the taxi drivers who use the station but this scheme is about going that one step further. We want to reinforce the message that we will take a tough stance against anyone who commits a crime against them, investigate every offence and provide them with full support.
“Taxi drivers also provide extra eyes and ears at the station and report any suspicious activity or incidents to us which is great and we hope that the scheme will develop these links further.
“We will be working closely with partners from Network Rail, Unite, West Yorkshire Police, taxi associations and Leeds City Council to implement the scheme.”
Vicki Beadle, Community Safety Manager at Network Rail, said: “It’s completely unacceptable for anyone to face violence or aggression at Leeds station, whether that’s taxi drivers, passengers or station workers and we work incredibly closely with British Transport Police to tackle this.
Paul Ladau from Unite Cab Section in Leeds said, “We are pleased to partner with British Transport Police and Network Rail on this new scheme that puts the welfare of Taxi Drivers squarely back on track.
The commitment shown by all involved is refreshing to see and be part of. A step forward such as this can only cement the good relations enjoyed between both Taxi Drivers, British Transport Police Officers and Network Rail Employees.
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TEESIDE
A private hire taxi driver has appeared in court after picking up an undercover licensing officer who hadn’t booked.
Haetham Majid Taha was fined over the illegal fare pick-up in Middlesbrough.
Taha, of Parliament Street, Stockton, admitted driving without motor insurance when he appeared at Teesside Magistrates’s Court earlier this month.
As a private hire driver, Taha was only allowed to take fares which had already pre-booked a taxi.
It followed an operation in Middlesbrough last November when council officers flagged down the Stockton Council-licensed private hire vehicle, on Acklam Road.
Taha agreed to take the officers to the Sporting Lodge Hotel, for an agreed £5 fare.
Only Hackney Carriage licence holders - who drive vehicles notable for their black and yellow livery - can accept a fare without a prior booking.
The 33-year-old was fined £120, with £194 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.
The illegal plying for hire invalidated Taha’s motor insurance as the journey had not been pre-booked through a licensed private hire operator.
In addition to the court fine, Mr Taha’s driving licence was endorsed with six penalty points. No separate penalty was imposed for plying for hire.
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A South Yorkshire man has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting two teenage girls he met through his jobs he held as a delivery driver and a taxi driver.
Dressed in a black suit and white shirt, Khurram Javed, 35, entered not guilty pleas to three counts of sexual assault and one count of rape, ahead of his trial beginning at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, May 21. Javed, of Clifton Crescent, Rotherham is alleged to have committed the four sex offences on two girls unknown to each other in two separate incidents that took place between May 2008 and March 2014.
The first of Javed's alleged victims, Girl A, says she met him when he was working as a delivery driver at the Sizzling Wok takeaway in Badsley Moor Road, Rotherham when she was aged between 12 and 13-years-old. "He gave his name as 'Sam'. She would visit with two other girls. They would sit on the wall outside the takeaway," prosecutor, Sophie Drake, told the court as she opened the case. She added: "She had met the defendant a couple of times when he gave her and her friends some foreign cigarettes. If he saw her on the street he would follow her in his car."
Javed's offending against Girl A is alleged to have taken place when she visited the takeaway on her own some time between May 2008 and March 2009, when he would have been aged between 25 and 26-years-old. Ms Drake told the court that Javed is alleged to have sexually assaulted Girl A twice in an alleyway next to the Sizzling Wok after he told her he wanted to speak with her there.
Girl A reported Javed to the police in 2016, and subsequently picked him out during a police identification parade. South Yorkshire Police (SYP) traced the number Girl A had for the defendant in her mobile phone to an account registered in Javed's wives' name, said Ms Drake.
The court heard how SYP had a record of Girl A calling the police on June 8, 2008 saying 'she was concerned her step father was going to ram the car of a 27-year-old delivery driver at a Chinese takeaway', Ms Drake added.
When interviewed by police Javed accepted working at the Sizzling Wok as a delivery driver, but denied ever meeting Girl A. Javed is accused of sexually assaulting and raping the second of his alleged victims, Girl B, on March 5, 2014 after collecting her from the supported living accommodation she was staying at, and taking her to a flat above his friend's corner shop in Wakefield.
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