THE BENEFITS OF THE SAFETY SHIELD

1. THE BENEFITS OF THE SAFETY SHIELD SAFETY SHIELDS SAVE LIVES!

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. CAMERA FLAWS • “Bronx detectives had few leads yesterday in the year’s first livery driver slaying after they discovered the security camera in his car didn’t 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 Driver’s Car.” Newsday 28 Jan 2003.

6. 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 Joseph’s 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 Police’s Hackney Division. Police are still searching for the suspect.” Ballou, B. “Wounded Cabbie: Where’s My Angel of Mercy?.” Boston Herald 11 March 2004.

7. 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.

8. TAXI DRIVER SAFETY: NUMBER ONE PRIORITY

9. TAXI DRIVER SAFETY: NUMBER ONE PRIORITY

10. TAXI DRIVER SAFETY: NUMBER ONE PRIORITY

11. TAXI DRIVER SAFETY: NUMBER ONE PRIORITY

12. “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)”

13. “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)

14. “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)”