In message , Tom
Anderson writes
On Sun, 6 Jul 2008, Mike Hughes wrote:

In message , Neil Williams
writes
On Sun, 6 Jul 2008 15:25:12 +0100, Mike Hughes
wrote:

Boris has promised to double the number of officers employed on
specific
enforcement from 34 to 68. I doubt if that will be enough but it is a
start.
Why can the general police not make some progress in enforcing
this?
After all, a crime is, in my understanding, being committed.

That's a question that many people, nit just those in the taxi trade,
have asked. The main problem appears to be that of having the
'political' will to do something as to take someone to court requires
time and money. That money has increased since introduction of PACE
(Police and Criminal Evidence Act) as introduced (IMO)

That's true. Before PACE, you could just forge a confession and beat a
suspect into signing it, which was much more cost-effective than all
this 'proof' business.

There were undoubtedly *some* miscarriages of justice pre-PACE which
needed to be addressed. It is at the 'lower' levels of criminal
prosecutions such as most traffic offences that PACE has imposed an
extra layer of bureaucracy which has increased costs. It is these costs
concerns that mean these offences are not going to court and *some* (not
all) guilty persons are not being punished.

In the original context of this part of the thread that the 'touting'
and unlawful plying for hire, etc. is not being dealt with.

I can remember way back when I was a police officer we would prosecute
(low level) cases at magistrates court without getting solicitors
involved and the magistrates would decide based upon the evidence.
Nowadays the CPS 'decide' the case beforehand with cost being a greater
consideration that it used to be.

IMO 'low' level crime, if not dealt with, leads to a greater and greater
likelihood of people continuing to break the law and treat with more and
more contempt.

--
Mike Hughes
A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton
at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England
Interested in American trains real and model?
Look here http://mikehughes627.fotopic.net/