THE BENEFITS OF THE SAFETY SHIELD

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THE BENEFITS OF THE SAFETY SHIELD

• SAFETY SHIELDS SAVE LIVES!

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AN ESSENTIAL, PREVENTATIVE MEASURE

• Safety shields are vital deterrents to crime,
  originating from the back-seat against cab
  drivers. They also create a safer work
  environment for drivers, which facilitate their
  efforts to work under served areas. Working more
  in the under served areas, will increase revenue
  to the Taxi Industry.
• Reeves, Floyd L. Hall, Joseph A. (1990).
  Department of Public Safety Buerea of Taxicabs
  and Vehicles for Hire Taxicab Operators Safety
  Program, p. 12

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KNOW THE FACTS

• Following a city-wide shield mandate in 1996
  case study data show that for the city of
  Baltimore the percentage of shielded taxis rose
  from about 50 in 1995 to 100 in 1996 for the
  1,151 licensed Baltimore cabs. Comparing the
  12-month periods before and after the mandate the
  data shows that assaults on taxi drivers
  decreased 56. Data also show that between the
  years 1991 when only 5 of the cabs had shields
  and 1997 when all did, assaults decreased 88.
• Stone, John R. Stevens, Daniel C. (1999). The
  Effectiveness of Taxi Partitions The Baltimore
  Case, p. iii

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KNOW THE FACTS

• A related economic analysis yielded a 17-to-1
  benefit-to-cost ratio of estimated savings from
  reduced injuries versus the costs of citywide
  shield installation. Thus, this study supports
  the use of shields in Baltimore for the case
  study licensed taxis. The results also argue for
  shields elsewhere, such as Baltimore County, and
  for other cities with conditions similar to those
  in Baltimore.
• Stone, John R. Stevens, Daniel C. (1999). The
  Effectiveness of Taxi Partitions The Baltimore
  Case, p. iii

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CAMERA FLAWS

• Bronx detectives had few leads yesterday in the
  years first livery driver slaying after they
  discovered the security camera in his car didnt
  work, police sources said.
• Fausto Arias, 47, was fatally stabbed in his
  white Lincoln Town Car in the Bronx at about 11
  a.m. Sunday.
• Sources said Arias camera was not working,
  leaving them with no record of his last
  passenger.
• Gardiner, S. Faulty Camera in Drivers Car.
  Newsday 28 Jan 2003.

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CAB DRIVERS AGREE

• I was stabbed four or five times, but it felt
  like more because it hurt so much. But I knew I
  had to fight him off, said Jercie Joseph, 37, a
  Haitian immigrant and father of four who dreams
  of one day being a nurse.
• Meanwhile a Hackney official said Josephs
  brutal attack may have been prevented if cabs
  outside the city of Boston, victim was assaulted
  in Brookline were required to have barriers
  between the front and back seats, as the ones in
  Boston are.
• There is no question in my mind that a barrier
  would have bought the this cab driver time to get
  away, said Mark Cohen, director of licensing for
  Boston Polices Hackney Division. Police are
  still searching for the suspect.
• Ballou, B. Wounded Cabbie Wheres My Angel of
  Mercy?. Boston Herald 11 March 2004.

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PROACTIVE vs. REACTIVE LINE OF DEFENSE

• Jose Pena-Segura, Amadou Ndiaye, and Pericles
  Salas, all of whom had many years of experience
  driving taxicabs, were robbed and murdered in the
  NYC area (Bronx and Yonkers) during a span of
  three weeks (8/17 8/31, 2009). Their respective
  crime scenes revealed that all three cabs were
  not equipped with partitions. Instead, the cab
  driven by victim Pena-Segura was equipped with a
  security camera. The cab driven by victim Ndiaye
  was not found with a security camera but
  authorities suspect that a camera may have been
  stolen during the robbery. The cab driven by
  Salas was not equipped with either.
• Cameras provide drivers with a reactive line of
  defense. They can help authorities identify
  criminals after a crime has been committed, but
  at what cost?
• Contrarily, partitions provide an indisputable,
  proactive line of defense. Their appearance and
  functionality serve to prevent criminals from
  committing acts of assault and robbery.

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TAXI DRIVER SAFETY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY
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TAXI DRIVER SAFETY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY
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TAXI DRIVER SAFETY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY
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TAXI DRIVER SAFETY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY
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• Captain Sbano, Commanding Officer of the Service
  Transportation Enforcement Division, made the
  presentation on behalf of the NYPD. Captain Sbano
  stated that in 1994, when partitions became
  mandatory for taxicabs, there had been the
  biggest drop in homicides for medallion drivers.
  In 1993, there had been 7 homicides of taxi
  drivers in 1994, there had been zero. Since
  1994, when partitions became mandatory, the
  number of homicides had alternated between one
  and zero. (Tr. pp. 17-20)

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• With respect to robberies, there had been a 32
  decrease in robberies in 1994, from 723 to 487,
  which had been the biggest decrease in taxi
  robberies from 1989 to the present. The same drop
  in robbery statistics could be seen in the
  non-medallion driver industry. The biggest drop
  of 44 came in 2000, after all or mostly all of
  the livery cars were required to install
  partitions. Captain Sbano noted that the
  correlation between the adoption of partitions as
  a safety measure and the number of homicides and
  robberies for both taxicab drivers and livery
  drivers was striking, it jumps right out of the
  page at you. (Tr. pp. 20-21)

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• Commissioner Torres then asked Captain Sbano if
  the taxicab and livery industries should be
  required to have partitions since liveries had
  the option of installing a camera or partitions
  since liveries had the option of installing a
  camera or partition in their vehicles, while the
  taxicabs were required to install partitions. The
  Chair clarified that individual owner-operators
  could legally choose either a camera or partition
  but that fleet or base owned vehicles must both
  install partitions. As a matter of policy, the
  TLC and the Police Department had always
  recommended a partition as the best way to
  prevent crime. (Tr. pp. 31-33)