Call Sign April 2007 - Page 12 - TAXIS, TOUTS, AND THE CAB ENFORCEMENT TEAM…

In our March issue, Call Sign was invited on a tour around the West End with the Transport Operational Command Unit’s (TOCU) Cab Enforcement Team. On that police tour, we saw no evidence at all of Licensed Taxi drivers being picked on, as others have claimed. Nevertheless we were concerned that recent PCO publication of figures suggested licensed taxi drivers were being booked for touting almost as often as PH drivers. In addition, given the increased level of robberies and attacks in the E14 area, Call Sign secured an exclusive face-to-face interview with C.I. Bob Marshall of TOCU – Chief Inspector of both the Cab Enforcement and Traffic Management teams and also involved in the transport planning for the 2012 Olympics. During an extended interview, he gave honest, straightforward answers to a wide range of topics of concern to our drivers. Call Sign began by asking why, after Mayor Ken had put public money into TOCU in an attempt to reduce robberies and sex attacks, Cab Enforcement officers appeared to spend time ‘booking’ cabs that were seen to be left on ranks while their drivers were away in the toilet or getting a sandwich? C.I. Marshall replied that much of his officers’ work was intelligence or complaint driven, usually by a member of the trade. So if they receive a call - perhaps from a shelter keeper - that the rank is blocked with unattended cabs, drivers with legitimate business on that rank cannot park to eat or service a hotel etc, then his officers have a duty to respond accordingly. He added that some taxi-drivers may have health concerns that mean frequent ‘comfort’ stops, but added that restraints on his officer’s time means they have better things to do than waste too long waiting for taxi drivers to return to their cabs. He also said that drivers loaded with carrier bags after a shopping expedition and returning to a cab parked on a rank, did nothing to convince his officers that the driver had "…just been to the toilet!" Call Sign then suggested some sort of ‘time clock’ to display in the cab window, similar to a disabled ‘blue-badge’ giving perhaps a 15/20 minute leeway time and C.I. Marshall agreed that this would be an excellent idea and a welcome step forward, saving the Met Police money and minimising his officers’ time if they did wait for the driver to return to his cab. We put it to Bob that on the subject of Cab Enforcement officers allegedly ignoring Mayor Ken’s extra public funding to reduce robberies and sex attacks on the travelling public, TOCU appeared to pursue their own agenda by ‘doing their own thing’. We asked what instructions his officers are given before they go out on the streets of the capital when on anti-touting operations and how they ensured that they too operated within the framework of the law? The Chief Inspector replied: "Since the Cab Enforcement Unit became part of the	*Call Sign Exclusive interview with C.I. Bob Marshall!!* TAXIS, TOUTS, AND THE CAB ENFORCEMENT TEAM…
	C.I. Bob Marshall Transport OCU, which is supported by Transport for London funding through one of five specific objectives, we focus on illegal touts and our operations in this way can lead to the identification of individuals with previous convictions for sexual offences. In respect of this, Safer Travel at Night figures has shown a year on year decrease in the number of reported cases of sexual offences and rape." He also added that, again, much of his officers’ activities are intelligence-driven where experience has proven that there is a problem with illegal touting. He acknowledged that some club doormen work in league with car drivers, but equally, many legitimate cars are pre-booked to meet passengers as arranged. To address this problem of sorting the wheat from the chaff, Bob worked with the PCO and PHV industry to produce what are known as the 5 Golden Rules or guidelines, that lay out a code of practice for PH drivers to follow to keep themselves on the straight and narrow path. The rules also serve as guidelines for his officers to work from to determine the status of anyone they stop on suspicion. The Chief Inspector suggested that some drivers, through language, mental or cultural differences, could find themselves having difficulty answering police questions designed to ascertain the bona fide status (or otherwise) of the drivers they stop and so the Anti-Tout teams work to a specific framework of questioning before arresting anyone. The C.I. added that with police resources in both man/woman power and financial constraints to consider, maximising his resources is a major concern. So what are these 5 ‘Golden Rules’, Call Sign asked? The Chief Marshall produced a 2-page dossier which explains in clear English exactly what is expected of PH drivers when legitimately picking up passengers from venues and states in no uncertain terms that only licensed taxis may ply for hire. It says that private hire drivers are not allowed to ply for hire, referring to such activities as being regarded as touting under Section 8 of the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act, 1869. For the sake of brevity here, we will summarise the many directives the Golden Rules cover, including NOT waiting in sight of a potential passenger, to approach or engage in conversation, loiter near clubs and other venues, or attract attention in other ways etc. The missive also gives guidance on what PH drivers must/can do	to stay within the law and not be mistaken for a tout. Call Sign is in possession of the full document. The Tout team also refers to these guidelines, working to accredited qualification levels when carrying out their duties. With the 5 Golden Rules being so clear, it is no wonder that Chief Marshall claims a 92% conviction rate for touts that are arrested! We then asked the Chief Inspector what percentage of cars / taxis were arrested for touting, given the confusing statistics issued by the PCO? Predominantly, his team’s focus is on cars where some 2200 were reported for processing last year as against 98 taxis over the same period. He again stressed the importance of intelligence and his teams’ experience to target areas likely to achieve results. Wherever you look in the West End, taxis are doing their job while cars seem to stop at will and appear to be touting - often in full view of taxi drivers. Do you treat taxis and PH in the same way, Call Sign asked? "No," Bob replied, "taxis are not treated the same. As I’ve said, much of our work is intelligence driven and we respond accordingly." He added: "The London taxi has been licensed for 350 odd years - half of that by the Met / PCO and during that long time, a great deal of self-regulation has evolved for the benefit of the public and to the great credit of the taxi industry. On the other hand, the PH trade has been licensed for only 3/4 years and its self-regulation is still in the early stages of development, but I’m hopeful and confident that it will mature over time." Finally, Call Sign raised the subject of attacks and other problems around the E14 area. C.I. Marshall said that in the first instance, these problems were for the local borough to handle, but that he was willing to be a ‘conduit’ for intelligence and perhaps some other assistance if we at DaC were willing to send him details of the problems we are experiencing. He made the point that these attacks, while centred around E14, could follow a pattern of problems over a larger area of East London which only intelligence could highlight. Dealing with this outbreak could, the Chief suggested, solve problems elsewhere too. So, if you have been a victim of these attacks, or have had other crime problems locally, please send details of your experience (in confidence) to Call Sign at the usual address, callsignmag@aol.com and we will forward them to Chief Inspector Bob Marshall. The Chief Inspector is prepared to work with us, but needs an input from you. We concluded the interview by thanking the Chief Inspector for his time and honest answers and look forward to working with him and his team to our mutual benefit. © Call Sign Magazine MM7

Call Sign Home Page

Page 14