The conviction of Raymond Shorten for raping two women while he worked as a taxi driver has fuelled concerns about the safety of passengers, particularly young women travelling late at night.
Shorten, it must be remembered, is a particularly dangerous individual and, prior to being sentenced to 17 years in respect of the two rapes, he received a 13-year sentence for raping a girl twice when she was seven or eight years old on dates more than 10 years ago. If he receives the standard remission of 25 per cent of his sentence, Shorten will be 72 on his release.
Shorten is in no way representative of his fellow taxi drivers. As most people’s experience will attest, taxi drivers are on the whole polite and obliging and on occasions can go to great lengths to help passengers. Figures from sexual assault treatment units (SATU) show there were 18 reports of sexual assault or rape in a taxi in 2022 and 2023 which must be set against the thousands of journeys made safely by taxi each day.
However, safety concerns persist and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has promised to implement proposals to reform the taxi licensing system “as soon as possible”. Details of what she proposes are scant but a review of the system by which drivers are vetted is under way. There is clearly a need for improvements in this area, but no vetting process can be 100 per cent effective.
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Junior transport minister James Lawless has called for mandatory CCTV in taxis. It is not a new idea but has been opposed in the past by both drivers and passengers. Drivers remain opposed to CCTV, according to the National Private Hire and Taxi Association. They point out issues around the proposed use of CCTV that need to be resolved, including data storage and access as well as cost. The drivers have reiterated their view that more stringent vetting would be a more effective measure.
The public’s attitude appears to have shifted in the wake of Shorten’s conviction, although evidence is at best anecdotal. CCTV is common on other forms of public transport and installing it in taxis must now be seriously considered.