Taxi drivers and railway staff to face criminal record checks following clamp down on gender violence
Taxi drivers and railway staff will be subjected to criminal record checks, under the UK Government’s new plans to clamp down on gender violence.
Public-facing transport staff could be vetted for previous offences through the disclosure and barring service (DBS), the Telegraph reported.
The government’s decision comes after a report highlighted that 49 per cent of women don’t feel safe on public transport, while 46 per cent had witnessed another woman subjected to verbal aggression.
Commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT), the research reported that 3.7 per cent of the UK’s GDP is lost because women fear taking a job that would require them to use public transport.
“It is important for our economy but it is more important morally that we have a public transport system that works for everybody especially the most vulnerable people who we already know are using alternative travel routes,” commented transport minister Trudy Harrison.
“I want to make sure no girl or woman has to rethink their route, decline a journey, decline a job, be worried about how they go about their business because of their fear of using public transport.”
According the DfT, the DBS should carry out the checks over the next three years, focusing on both spent and unspent convictions as well as cautions, warnings and reprimands.
“This will support safeguarding policies and increase trust across our customers and staff within the transport industry. This is particularly important on services where there are fewer people on board, such as in the evening or where more vulnerable passengers are travelling,” the report said.