Sunday, June 19, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Cameras helping fight crime, taxi officials say

A camera watches passengers and driver alike from a taxi windshield Thursday night in downtown Las Vegas. Photo by Craig L. Moran.

A taxi driver is assaulted by a late night reveler while his companions look on from the back seat. A transient takes off in a cab left running outside a convenience store. Another man argues with a cabby over an unpaid fare and chokes the driver before fleeing. Yet another steals a taxi while the driver delivers dinner to his wife, then proceeds to rack up charges on the driver's credit cards.

Making a living as a Las Vegas taxi driver has never been easy, but it is getting even tougher for people who victimize taxi drivers.

All of these suspects were caught in the act in recent weeks by cameras mounted in taxis, according to the Nevada Taxicab Authority. Photos and video identifications led to the arrest of two of the suspects, while the remaining two fled to California. One was arrested on other charges, and the other still is wanted.

Although these cases represent fewer than 10 percent of the crimes against taxi drivers this year, they bolster claims by camera proponents that the equipment will raise the arrest rate for crimes against taxi drivers.

"The cameras are definitely working," said Rob Stewart, a spokesman with the Taxicab Authority. "It's all about case solvability."

Just over half of Las Vegas taxis now carry recording equipment, with more hitting the streets every week, according to city cab companies. More than 90 percent of the crimes against cabdrivers this year occurred in cabs without cameras, according to the Taxicab Authority.

Meanwhile, the Taxicab Authority, the taxi drivers' union and cab company owners continue to argue about proposed rules governing just how far companies can go to monitor what happens in taxis.

Stewart said the cameras are a proven method for getting an investigation off the ground quickly.

"After a crime, we often get a generic description, medium height, medium build, that kind of thing," Stewart said. "With video, a supervisor can come to the scene with a laptop and download a picture right there, so we know exactly who we are looking for."

The cameras, which are mounted in plain view of passengers and marked with signs, also are being credited with heading off criminals.

"We're telling our drivers to make sure passengers know they're on candid camera," said Brent Bell, president of Whittlesea Bell Transportation.

Whittlesea Bell has installed audio and video equipment in all of its 386 cabs. Bell said Whittlesea Bell normally would experience one or two robberies a month. Now, he said, "our robbery statistics have dropped to virtually nothing."

Other cab companies are showing similar results.

"We've not had a single incident in a cab with a camera," said Bill Shranko, operations director of Yellow-Checker-Star Transportation. "We feel that they're a real deterrent."

According to Shranko, about 85 percent of the Yellow-Checker fleet has been outfitted with cameras.

Unlike the equipment installed in Whittlesea Bell and Lucky Cab Co. taxis, Yellow-Checker equipment does not capture sound. Audio recording is a contentious issue with many drivers. They feel it invades their privacy and could be misused by management.

Shranko said the decision to exclude sound recording helped smooth the transition for drivers. "When drivers feel they are being spied on, they react badly," he said.

Although crime investigators rely most heavily on images, sound recordings also have been used in a small number of cases. A driver recently was cleared of wrongdoing by his employer when an audio recorder caught the sound of his cab being struck by another vehicle outside of the camera's range, according to the Taxicab Authority.

And in one of the recent assaults caught on camera, sound recordings backed up the driver's claim that that passenger was combative, which Stewart said should help secure a conviction.

"Audio is the icing on the cake," Stewart said.

In many taxis, including Whittlesea Bell and Lucky cabs, recording equipment also is triggered when the cab is jolted, as when it goes over a speed bump too fast or takes a turn too sharply.

Bell has been an outspoken advocate of using the equipment to monitor his drivers. He said the company is "actively pursuing" drivers who abuse taxis and that more than 30 drivers have been fired for repeatedly triggering the equipment.

As of May, Bell said, Whittlesea Bell drivers also are eligible for a $150-a-month bonus for not triggering the equipment in the previous month.

"Next week, we'll hand out almost $15,000 in bonuses," Bell said. "It's money I can either pay out for shocks and new front ends, or I can give it to the good drivers."

Lucky Cab owner Jason Awad said monitoring also is popular with his drivers because it helps protect the fleet. "Our drivers want a car in good condition, and this is a good management tool," Awad said.

But one Lucky cabdriver who asked not to be identified said the monitoring equipment makes him nervous.

"I was driving into work and when I got there the boss said, 'Slow down on those speed bumps,' " he said. "And I was thinking, 'Man, what else do they know?' "

Another driver said he was afraid a conversation he had with a passenger about drugs in Las Vegas could be misinterpreted by his boss.

Although the taxi drivers' union opposes taxi monitoring, most drivers seem to accept the equipment. Waiting for a fare outside Binion's Casino, Desert Cab Co. driver George Tafesh said the monitoring equipment is "like the Ten Commandments. They're there to protect you."

Zeljko Eskic, a Yellow-Checker driver who has driven a camera-equipped cab for two months, said, "If you're doing this job OK, you're following the rules, it's no problem."

But some drivers are not so accepting. Charles Lynch, a 22-year veteran driver with Whittlesea Bell, said the cameras are unnecessary and give a false sense of security. "Between instincts and training, what more can you do?" he asked. "The only real crime deterrent is a beige shirt and a gun on the side."