Working alongside Liverpool City Council and the accredited awarding organisation, ICQ, a number of Merseyside Police Roads Policing officers have been put through a specialist taxi licensing course.
The course gives the officers the opportunity to learn the finer details of local taxi licensing regulations, meaning these officers are trained in spotting taxis which aren’t compliant with these rules and regulations, meaning these vehicles are not fully certified as safe or legal to carry members of the community.
Chief Inspector Tony Jones, Head of Roads Policing explained “Working with our partners in the local authority, we identified the importance of ensuring our officers were fully aware of local taxi licensing regulations. Putting the safety of the community first is key in everything we do and this new training means officers can ensure only licensed and authorised cars and drivers are carrying people around our city. If an officer has cause to have dealings with a taxi or private hire vehicle, they know exactly what to spot around taxi safety features, such as vehicle maintenance and tyre compliance.
“We recognise that most of the taxis and private hire vehicles on our streets are compliant with these regulations, but we are continually working to reduce the number of people on our roads who are killed and seriously injured and this is just one step towards making sure the taxi’s on our roads are safe and road worthy.”
The officers were awarded by certificates of the course completion, by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Jane Kennedy and Liverpool City Council’s Chair of Licensing Christine Banks.
Cllr Banks – pictured centre with the police officers – said: “Most taxi drivers deliver a fantastic service but we have a sizeable minority who breach regulations and put passengers at risk. It makes perfect sense for us to work with our partners at Merseyside Police as they share our aim of making sure vehicles and occupants stay safe on the roads. We are determined to tackle the drivers who do breach the law and I very much welcome this initiative as a way of tackling taxi licensing breaches. It complements the work we are already doing with our own licensing staff in tackling issues such as cherry picking.”
