SHOCKING new figures show more than a THOUSAND Minicab drivers have been charged with sexual and violent crimes in the UK in just five years.
Data obtained by The Sun shows over 300 cabbies were charged with violent and sexual offences last year alone, including murder, child abduction and rape.
More than a THOUSAND taxi drivers have been charged with violent and sexual offences in the past five years
The number is also on the rise in both London and Avon and Somerset, with 126 drivers charged in the capital alone last year.
Offences committed have included rape, murder, attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, child abduction, actual bodily harm and manslaughter.
London had the notably highest number of crime-committing cabbies, with nearly 2,000 charged with criminal offences in the past five years.
Of these, 521 were charged with violent and sexual crimes such as assault, rape and child sex offences.
Last year marked the highest number of sex and violent offenders the capital has seen in five years.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “”The MPS has a dedicated Cab Enforcement Unit, part of the Roads and Transport Policing Command (RTPC), which is responsible for enforcing the law relating to taxis and private hire vehicles in London.
“It works closely with the Safer Transport Teams and local borough police on joint operations to tackle touting and other cab related offences, with a specific focus on reducing sex offences in cabs through detection and deterrence activities.”
Peter Blake, TfL’s Director of Operational Services, said: “Every driver in the taxi and private hire trades undergoes an enhanced criminal records check before they are granted a licence and the police are required to notify us whenever a taxi or private hire driver is charged with a criminal offence. Any driver who poses a risk to public safety will have their licence suspended immediately.”
Sun probe
A Sun probe found more than a thousand taxi drivers have been charged with violent and sexual offences in five years
It comes just a week after Bedford taxi driver Naseer Taj was jailed for eight years and three months for preparing acts of terrorism.
Scots taxi perv Archibald Buchanan was also jailed for three years for sex attacks on two women, including a 12-year-old girl, last Friday.
The Sun recently revealed there were 32 Uber drivers accused of rape or sex attacks on customers in the capital last year.
Taxi attack victim Taleka White, 27, told of her horror after she was allegedly attacked and racially abused by an Uber driver after getting a car after a night out in Croydon, south London.
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