Worboys: The fallout
The fallout from the John Worboys rape and sexual assault case cannot be underestimated, the actions of this one individual have scarred his victims for life, wrecked his family and tainted an industry. The licensed London taxi industry now has two options, it can bury its collective heads in the sand in the vain hope that this appalling crime and the considerable media attention goes away, or it can tackle the issues that are being raised in the media "head-on." The licensed taxi industry is the safest form of public transport in London, that is a statistical fact, the industry has seen 3 rape convictions in 50 years. To put this into perspective, in 2016, 12 PHV drivers were found guilty of rape or sexual assault, which is quadruple the convictions of the licensed London taxi industry, in just a single year. Let's be clear here, this case is not about the taxi industry versus the PHV industry, this case highlights the fact that both industry's are in a postion of public trust and crimes such as those perpetuated by Worboys must never take place again.
The licensed London taxi industry has of course roundly condemned Worboy's repugnant actions from every quarter.
The taxi industry can point fingers as to how the police investigated this particular case, it can also question why there was a reluctance to bring further charges after more allegations came to light after the trial. This, however will be a futile exercise, finger pointing will not serve any purpose to the public nor the industry. The industry must accept that the most important people here are Worboys victims, the first and last concern must be with those poor women. The taxi industry in London will recover from this, it is just a part of the collatoral damage that Worboys left in his wake. It wouldn't have mattered a jot as to what industry Worboys was in, he would have still committed those crimes because he is a sexual predator. Given his inexplicable, seemingly early release, the taxi industry may be on the defensive for quite a while from a media perspective, this should not concern the industry as it has nothing to prove nor justify, it has a long and proud history and a record which is second to none where public safety is concerned.
