Three Brighton and Hove taxi drivers have lost their licence in the past four months after they were accused of breaking the criminal law.
One was accused of rape, another was suspected of drug dealing and a third was convicted of breaching a non-molestation order.
Councillors spoke of their relief that officials had revoked the drivers’ licences even though in two cases they were only the subject of allegations.
Conservative councillor Dee Simson said that she was pleased to see a licence revoked rather than suspended when a driver was accused of a serious crime.
She said: “Only a short time ago … we saw, in relation to drugs and rape, the licences were suspended – innocent until proven guilty.
“It’s good to see here a couple of things where the licence has been revoked when there’s suspected drugs issues and an allegation of rape.”
Labour councillor Clare Moonan asked for the criteria for reinstating licences. She also asked in what circumstances the council would never allow a driver to have a licence again.
She said: “Some of the reasons for revoking a licence are very serious. Even if they are convicted and serve their sentence, would they be reinstated if they reapplied?”
She was told that taxi drivers had to prove that they were “fit and proper” persons to hold a licence through Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.
The only circumstances when a licence “might” be reinstated after a serious crime had occurred was if police contacted the council to say that the individual had been exonerated or wrongly arrested.
But if a driver was acquitted by a court – or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute – this might not result in a licence being automatically reinstated.
