BRISTOL

As he marks 18 months in his role, PC Patrick Quinton, Taxi Cop for Avon & Somerset police tells us about his job and how he’s making a positive difference to communities in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

“Originally the intention was to create a traffic officer type role, similar to one they have in Birmingham, but when I got the job, I realised the role needed to be more community focussed. So rather than just issuing tickets and enforcing the law, I do a lot of problem solving. I offer support and a listening ear to drivers, feeding back their thoughts to the Councils and other partners.

 I help drivers when they’re victims of crime themselves and provide them with information. I gather intelligence which I then pass along to investigating officers; this can be in cases where taxi drivers themselves are committing crimes.
 My primary focus is about public safety, and that involves standards of driving, standards of vehicle, detecting and prosecuting unlicensed drivers, traffic management, crime investigation and many other things!

How did your role come about?

“Taxi drivers in Bristol were very unhappy. They didn’t feel there was effective enforcement when it came to taxis from outside our area operating in the city, as well as illegal taxis. This was having an effect on trade. SARI (Stand Against Racism and Inequality) stepped in, working to bridge the gap between the council and the drivers, to improve relationships. As part of that process they found out that Birmingham had a police officer running a Taxi Cop scheme. So SARI invited him to come down and speak at a taxi conference and drivers’ thought it was a brilliant idea. This led to Bristol and South Gloucestershire councils getting together and funding the post, and here I am!”

https://goo.gl/qEmdkr
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LIVERPOOL


A man shot dead in a chilling execution outside a house last night had left a taxi just moments before.

Emergency services were called to Alderson Road , Wavertree, at around 10.40pm last night to reports that a man had been injured.

Paramedics took the victim to hospital but he sadly died a short time later.

Police investigating the fatal shooting, which is the second murder in Liverpool in ten days, said today that the 25-year-old had just got out of a taxi moments before the shots were fired.

It is believed that the man was stood on a doorstep of one of the terraced houses on the street when he was hit.

People in the area told the ECHO that the victim was shot "around four times" before armed police and the ambulance services arrived on the street.

https://goo.gl/PvUQqa 
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LEEDS

A taxi driver who picked up a passenger outside a Yorkshire pub before driving to a remote location and raping him has been jailed for 12 years.

The court heard the man had been drinking during a night out and and his friends put him in Ilyas's taxi thinking he would be safe.

Leeds Crown Court heard Ilyas drove his victim to a remote farm track where he orally raped him in the early hours one morning in May 2016.

Ilyas, of Pear Street, Halifax, denied rape but was convicted by a Leeds Crown Court jury after a trial in September.

Reading the man's victim personal statement to the court, prosecutor Matthew Bean said the experience has been a "nightmare," adding: "Because of what the taxi driver did to me that night I have at many points been suicidal."

Mr Bean said the man also wrote: "I never go to town alone anymore and will never get a taxi alone again.

"I will never forget this. I don't know when or if I will ever get over it."

A Mirpuri (Punjabi dialect) interpreter translated at the hearing for Ilyas, who appeared in court via video link to HMP Leeds,

Mitigating, Daniel Calder, said his client is a married-father-of-five with no previous convictions.

Mr Calder said: "This was, and I hope the court will accept this, an isolated incident entirely out of character."

https://goo.gl/LvcCNL

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 OXFORD

A WOMAN in her 20s was sexually assaulted after getting a taxi home in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Police said the victim had taken a taxi from Park End Street, in the centre of Oxford, at around 1.30am on Sunday, before falling asleep as she was taken to her home in Abingdon.

The victim had taken a taxi from Oxford's Park End Street around 1.30am on Sunday morning

The victim had taken a taxi from Oxford's Park End Street around 1.30am on Sunday morning

She awoke to find the driver undoing her trousers before she was attacked.

The woman got out of the taxi near West St Helen Street, Abingdon but was followed by the driver.

She then approached a member of the public who helped her and the driver walked off.

The driver is described as an Asian male with short black hair and stubble.

Police are appealing for information.

Officers have not yet said if they believe the car to be a genuine licensed taxi or one working illegally.

They have also not disclosed what company the taxi, if any, belongs to, and where it is licensed.

https://goo.gl/oEA8M6 

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NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE

A taxi driver has been banned from the roads after driving his cab into a canal with his passengers inside.

Charles Payne, 63, had been picking up passengers from a pub following a night out.

They suffered minor injuries, as did, Payne, as the car ended up in the water.

However, instead of driving away from the pub's car park, he ended up in the nearby canal at Fradley Junction, a court has heard.

Payne appeared at North Staffordshire Justice Centre where he admitted driving without due care and attention.

The court heard that at 11.37pm on April 1, this year, Payne had been called to The Swan pub, at Fradley Junction, in Alrewas, where he picked up an unknown amount of passengers in his Peugeot taxi.

The pub car park is near the Trent and Mersey Canal.

The court heard that the defendant collected his passengers and then drove out of the car park of the pub - straight into the canal on the opposite side of the road.

As a result of the incident the defendant’s vehicle was a potential loss and the driver and passenger received minor injuries, the court was told.

The court heard that the road surface was in good condition and wet.

The Trent and Mersey Canal is 93.5 miles long and passes through the East and West Midlands, and north-west of England.

Payne, of Sorrel, Tamworth, has been fined £347 and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £34 victim surcharge.

He was also banned from driving for six months due to repeat offending.

As Payne was not arrested at the scene Staffordshire Police said they were unable to provide a comment or a photograph.

https://goo.gl/xkXi26

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NORTH AYESHIRE

Taxi drivers angry at lack of Stevenston bus lane access

Taxi customers face excessive fares while waiting in traffic because cab drivers are not allowed to use a bus lane in Stevenston. 

Jim McKerrell, director of TOA Taxis in Stevenston, said that he has complained to North Ayrshire Council numerous times about getting access to the bus lane but to no avail.
He told the Herald: “To our knowledge Stevenston’s the only place that doesn’t allow taxis on the bus lane. Some of the drivers are refusing to go and pick people up at peak times because it’s up to 25 minutes to do a five-minute job because they’re stuck in traffic. It’s causing excessive fares, it’s wasting petrol and releasing fumes because they’re sitting with their engines running.

“We’re leading up to the festive season again which is going to be more congested – when this lane [the bus lane] is totally empty. It’s going to impact the general public.” 

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “We have looked into the option of opening up the lane for taxi drivers and discussed this possibility with partners Police Scotland, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and the local bus operator.

“It was agreed that it would not be appropriate to amend the existing Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to allow taxis to use this relatively short bus lane. 

“It was felt that we had to be absolutely consistent with all motorists and that it would be unfair on motorists and the bus operators – who carry a significant number of passengers – to allow taxi drivers to use the bus lane.

“As well as causing delays in public transport, it was also felt that general road users could become aggrieved by taxis driving in the bus lanes especially when off hire or not carrying passengers. This in turn could encourage abuse of bus lanes by other motorists.”

https://tinyurl.com/y7y6bkjr