Are Cardiff taxi drivers putting passengers at risk?

• New data shows almost 100 Cardiff drivers had licenses granted between 2012-2016 despite having a criminal record
• Cardiff drivers have had 1,309 cautions and convictions printed on license applications submitted in the last year alone
• Government data released under Freedom of Information Act shows around a quarter of all new or renewed taxi driver license applications across the UK contain criminal convictions
• Case by case approach means applications can be granted at authority’s discretion even where criminal convictions apply
• UK screening provider Complete Background Screening calls for stricter regulation  for taxi background checks

The lack of taxi background checks for Cardiff taxi drivers could be putting customers at risk every day in Wales’ capital city as new figures show almost 100 drivers had licenses granted over the last four years – despite having a criminal conviction.

Of the 1064 applications received for hackney carriage and private hire drivers in Cardiff between 2012-2016, 176 applications with convictions were considered by the Public-Protection Sub-Committee. Of these, 90 applicants with a criminal record had their licenses granted.

Data released under the Freedom of Information Act also shows 6,774 of the 29,277 applications submitted by would-be taxi drivers across the UK within the last 12 months contained more than 40,000 cautions or convictions. Over the last three years, applications have also included 202 convictions of theft, 214 convictions of driving with no insurance and 140 cases of driving whilst disqualified, among other crimes.

In Cardiff, within the same period those applying to become drivers had also been convicted of violent crimes including 114 cases of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, 41 cases of assault and two convictions of manslaughter. Between 2012-2015, 634 applications were also returned where the applicant had at least one criminal conviction, and in total 4,054 cautions or convictions were printed over the three-year period in Wales’ capital city.

Despite this no legislation exists to automatically prevent drivers with previous convictions from receiving a license, meaning even the most hardened of criminals could be picking unsuspecting customers up off the street every day. Instead, drivers with a criminal conviction can in theory still be deemed fit for their role by the local council to which they belong, which considers each application and its individual merits on a case by case basis.

All applications to run a licensed taxi are subject to DBS screening checks, however, with around 30,000 Disclosure and Barring Service checks run annually on individuals who wish to apply for a taxi license or need their license renewed. Every person who drives a taxi or private hire vehicle, including app-based taxis like UBER, are required by law to go through an enhanced screening process, similar to teachers.

In 2015 in Cardiff, 957 taxis were active and licenses for drivers need to be renewed every three years. However, evidence also clearly shows that an alarming number of crimes are being committed by our so called trusted ‘badged’ taxis, resulting in a call for more taxi background checks.

Rachel Bedgood, CEO of Wales’ largest employment screening companies, Complete Background Screening, says this is just another example of why background screening taxi drivers is essential.

Rachel said: “Without DBS checks, it is impossible to know the full background of people we employ in industries including those serving the public on a daily basis and, quite frankly, the reality could be quite dangerous if we do not continue to screen employees correctly.

“I believe that additional screening should be applied to these individuals to ensure that they are suitable for the role. We should be using resources such as the DBS Updating Service to ensure that criminal records are always kept up-to-date and that the highest level of screening is being utilised.

“Whilst I realise that a lot of responsibility for deciding who is suitable for this job is down to local councils – and that some convictions may be extremely minor – the bottom line is we need to make sure that we are being as strict as possible to ensure that no dangerous individuals are slipping through the net.”