Government hate crime action plan requires taxis to report any crimes seen or heard

The Government’s latest action plan on tackling hate crime includes plans for taxi and private hire drivers to report incidents of hate crime.

The plan, Action Against Hate, includes proposals to make “…taxi and private hire vehicle drivers identify and report hate crime in the night-time economy.” The Home Office said that it will do this by including advice “…in the Department for Transport’s best practice guidance on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle licensing.” The DfT’s best practice guidance is due to be updated and republished in 2019 and the Government will encourage all 293 licensing authorities in England to adopt the guidance, including the “advice” that taxi and private hire vehicle drivers who witness cases of hate crime report it. The hate crime action plan does not make it clear whether there will be a statutory requirement on taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to report hate crime but it will be important for the trade to use the opportunity to comment on the revised best practice guidance – if there is an opportunity to do so.