Idea of mandatory CCTV for taxis in Wealden is dropped

On Monday (January 30), Wealden District Council’s licensing committee decided not to move ahead with plans to make CCTV cameras a mandatory requirement for taxi drivers at the current time, but to revisit the question next year.

The proposal followed on from changes in national guidelines intended to improve protections for vulnerable passengers, particularly children.

However, committee members had reservations about the need and desire for such a measure in Wealden.

Councillors also had concerns about the impact of such a change on the council’s resources. This was because the council, if it were to make CCTV a mandatory requirement for taxi drivers, would have to become a data controller for the footage. This would have legal and IT implications, officers said.

The council had also consulted on the plans last year. While a relatively small sample, it found 48 per cent of those surveyed (including both residents and taxi drivers) did not support making cameras compulsory. A smaller proportion (44 per cent) supported the move while seven per cent were undecided.

In light of their concerns, councillors were minded to hold off on introducing such a requirement until further investigation could take place.

As part of this, officers were asked to liaise with neighbouring councils in Eastbourne and Lewes, which are due to introduce mandatory CCTV for their taxi drivers next October, in order to seek more information about the changes.

In the meantime, taxis in Wealden are still able to opt-in to fitting CCTV cameras when wanted.