Taxi drivers in a Bristol area say they feel let down by police after claiming more than 50 vehicles have been damaged in the past month. The drivers claimed that vehicles are being targeted "every single day" around the BS5 and BS2 areas of East Bristol, mainly having windows smashed but also having registration plates stolen in a few occasions.
Sharif Deria, the owner of JS Hire Bristol Bristol Limited, said that Avon and Somerset Police is failing the community. He said that four of his vehicles have been damaged in recent weeks.
"The level of anxiety that drivers now have when going to bed is beyond imagination, but police are not even bothering to investigate," he said. "They just give you a crime reference number so you can go to your insurance.
Read next: Vehicle windows smashed in east Bristol and items stolen
"You will be out of work for a couple of days while you are waiting for the repair and you will also have to pay the excess. And then it goes on your record of claims so your insurance goes up. They are failing the whole community and not just taxi drivers. Police are not taking it seriously at all and I think it is discrimination.
"If this crime was happening in a white area, there would be action immediately but because this is a largely immigrant community they are not listening. They are not even bothering to investigate."
Saif Hussain, the chairman of Blue Taxis, that represents hackney carriages and private hires, said vehicles have been damaged for some time now but that it has got a lot worse in the past four months. Vehicles are mainly being damaged around the BS5 and BS2 postcode areas of East Bristol, he said, including Barton Hill, Easton, St Jude's and Newtown.
Mr Hussain said that, in the past four weeks alone, 50 vehicles have been damaged. "It is happening every single day," he continued. "Just on Wednesday night, there were four vehicles damaged.
"Drivers are not leaving valuables in their cars but they are still being smashed. They normally break the driver or passenger window, but one car had the windscreen smashed.
"Four cars have had their registration plates taken. We are only aware of them targeting taxis - both hackney carriages or private hire. It is having a big impact. It is at least £200 [to have a side window fixed], but a windscreen can be £300. And there is also the lost time you can not work. Because they are doing so many cars, they are now doing repeats and quite a lot of people have been hit twice now."
Mr Hussain said that each driver has contacted the police but that, as far as he is aware, they have not come out on any occasion. The taxi driver said that they decided to contact their councillors as they felt the police was not listening to individuals despite the big impact it is having on their livelihoods.
"It feels they are at last starting to realise what is happening," he added. "In some cases, if they had come out quicker, they would have caught the guys. The message that is being given at the moment is that there is no police action."
Jama Hussein, who has been a taxi driver since 2013, said he has had his vehicle targeted twice, including having his windscreen smashed at the end of August. The driver claimed that, in an incident earlier this month in Barton Hill, the offenders were confronted and they pulled a knife out.
They smashed a taxi, Mr Hussein added. "We have dozens of CCTV in Barton Hill but it is not making a difference," he said. "The CCTV is pointless as they police are not even checking it."
Ali Geedi, who has been a taxi driver since 2007, had his car broken into about a month ago when it was parked near the Settlement in Barton Hill. The driver's side window was smashed, he said, and some change was stolen.
"I have never had any problems before," he said. "I had heard about it [about windows being smashed], but I thought my car was safe as it was inside a gated compound. If the police came out and did a few patrols around 4am or 5am, it would make a difference."
Patrick Masih - who has been a taxi driver for 17 years - was another driver unhappy with the lack of police response. "This place [Barton House] is supposed to be safe as it has a gate," he said. "If it happens here, it can happen anywhere. They [the offenders] are getting encouraged because the police are not taking any action. I have not seen this problem in this scale before - they really need to act."
Saeed Ismael - who has driven a hackney carriage driver for 23 years - is one of those drivers who has been targeted twice. The Lawrence Hill resident said the first time they smashed the driver's window with a brick and stole his wallet and bank cards, while the second time they smashed the window but there was nothing for them to take.
"I do not leave anything in the car now and I have note that says there is nothing valuable in there," he said. "It is about stealing, but I also think it is a racial issue - we get a lot of hate crime as taxi drivers."
Sergeant Stuart King, from Avon & Somerset police said: "We have recently become aware a large number of taxis have been damaged in east Bristol during the past few weeks. Windows have been smashed, wing mirrors have been broken and items have been stolen from within. Each report made to us has been individually assessed and any available lines of enquiry considered.
"In many cases, there have either been no witnesses, the incident hasn’t been caught on CCTV or there have been no forensic opportunities for us to investigate. In other cases, the exact time of the crime is unknown or we have been unable to identify a suspect when reviewing CCTV footage.
"We fully recognise the impact such damage has on taxi drivers is significantly higher than other motorists, with their ability to earn reduced while repairs are carried out. As such, we are increasing patrols during the evenings and throughout the night in the affected areas to act as deterrent and to provide reassurance to both the taxi driver and wider community.
"So that we can build a complete picture of what is happening and how many taxis have been targeted we’d ask people to tell the call handler when reporting an incident that the damaged vehicle is a taxi. We’d also ask all incidents are reported to us along with all instances of suspicious behaviour. The more information we have the better we can target our resources.
“Generally speaking, we’d like to take the opportunity to remind all motorists of the importance of removing all valuables from their vehicles. Most break-ins occur when items are left visible. Other crime prevention advice, such as around the use of alarms, is available on our website. Any taxi drivers who have experienced similar issues in east Bristol are asked to call 101 and quote reference number 5222099300."
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