Roban says public safety is priority in wake of concerns over taxi drivers

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Transportation Minister Walter Roban said that the safety and security of the public is a priority following reports that convicted sex offenders are working as taxi operators.

However he declined to say what measures are in place or would be put in place to prevent sex offenders from taking such positions, explaining that the matter falls under the Public Service Vehicles Licensing Board (PSVLB).

Questioned following a press conference on the topic of the taxi industry, Mr Roban said: “This Government is committed to ensuring all members of the public are safe and secure.”

While he said he would not comment on the matter beyond what has been said in Thursday’s edition of The Royal Gazette, he did add: “The board will comment to that issue generally some time in the future.”

The issue arose this week after Jarreau Valentine Brown-Rogers, who was found guilty of harassing a female passenger, was spotted by staff from this paper working again as a taxi operator.

It was also discovered that former probationary policeman Paul Boorman, who pled guilty in April to accessing child pornography, is also working as a taxi operator while awaiting sentencing.

The PSVLB chairwoman Lovitta Foggo declined to comment in connection to Thursday’s story.

When the Brown-Rogers case was dealt with in court in 2010, a Ministry of Transport spokesman said the board “does everything within its remit to ensure that all persons granted a licence to operate a public service vehicle are put through an extensive vetting process.”

The spokesman continued to say: “When incidents such as these occur, the board does not take them lightly and makes every effort to ensure the person found guilty of an offence is brought before them and dealt with accordingly. This could range from a suspension of driving licence to operate or an outright revocation of their driving licence.”

However, the spokesman refused to give an update this week on what happened to Brown-Rogers in the end or how he is back on the road.

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