Cabbies' cameras in bid to thwart driver attacks

A leading taxi firm is installing five CCTV cameras in a trial scheme in a bid to beat the yobs who attack its drivers.

AquaCars is Portsmouth's biggest taxi company, employing 650 drivers, and will test out the new cameras in January.

The spy cameras will be trained on the passengers in the hope that they will help catch any crooks, or better still, deter people from offending in the first place.
It is hoped drivers will see their benefits and be willing to fork out the £600 to buy them, although they want to get financial help from public funds.

It comes after one taxi driver was brutally attacked and robbed on Christmas Day, along with two more minor attacks on drivers.

In the last two weeks AquaCars has had 15 reported incidents, but that is nothing out of the ordinary now, according to general manager Malcolm Wickham.
He said: 'Unfortunately that amount of attacks and other incidents are common at this time of year, but in 2006 as a whole we have seen an increase, and it is completely unacceptable.

'Ideally I would have all my cars fitted with the new cameras, but we cannot afford to spend that much, so the driver is asked to pay.
'We fully understand why a lot of them cannot afford it, but we offer payment deals so it is not in one lump sum.'

Driver David Hungate, 53, is chairman of Portsmouth Federation of Cabs.
He said: 'A lot of drivers are being driven out of the business because of the problems.
'I know a lot of older drivers who only do days because nights are too dangerous.

'Backing from the council or the government in the form of funding would be a massive boost.'

Drivers are angry that neighbouring areas, including Gosport, have received grants from the government for security systems.

But Portsmouth City Council has so far refused to help, and says supplying free cameras would be impossible.

The city's transport chief, Councillor Alex Bentley, said: 'Because so many taxis have more than one owner it would be very hard to track exactly where all the money would be going.

'On buses, for example, it is a lot easier to fit security devices because they are all owned by the one company.

'However, we are fully behind the move by AquaCars, and urge drivers to take up the chance to protect themselves.'