Police action over illegal lifts ‘heavy handed’

Police action over illegal lifts ‘heavy handed’

Last year, the police announced that people suspected of offering illegal lifts would have their information passed to insurance companies with a recommendation that their cover be withdrawn. The force also handed out leaflets to drivers advising them of the law.

The scheme was designed to crackdown on drivers acting as illegal taxis via the Jersey Lifts Facebook page.

However, the move has now been met with criticism by Itineris – developers of the Jersey Lifts app which is separate from the Facebook group – who have accused the police of being ‘heavy handed’ in their approach.

Itineris has also suggested that by passing drivers’ details on to insurance companies, the police might have broken data protection laws as the app developer claims there is ‘no lawful basis’ by which the force can pass that information on in instances where there has been no arrest or conviction.

Under the Data Protection Law, personal data can be handed over if it is for the ‘prevention, detection or investigation, anywhere of crime’.

In an open letter to police chief Rob Bastable, Ben Lewis of Itineris said that there had been no prosecutions to date and that it was unclear who the police could pass information to in cases where there had been no convictions, or where the police had opted not to investigate.

The letter says: ‘A mere suspicion that someone may have profited in someway from a ride-share is not enough, in our view, to permit the police to write to an individual’s insurer saying that cover should be revoked or to apparently “tip off” the Tax Office or Social Security that an individual is deriving an income which an individual has not declared.’

As part of the police investigation, called Operation Shadow, police officers patrolled known pick-up and drop-off points to distribute flyers which warn drivers they could be breaking the law and invalidating their insurance if they charged more than 60 pence per mile – the Island’s ‘flat-rate mileage allowance’ – thereby making a profit on the journey.

Mr Lewis disputed the 60 pence per mile threshold and said that drivers were entitled to collect for the running costs of the car which might fluctuate depending on insurance premiums or the type of vehicle.

The app, which is a not-for-profit scheme designed to allow Islanders to carpool with registered drivers, has about 4,000 users since launching in August.

Mr Lewis added that he was ‘extremely disappointed’ that the police did not appear to distinguish between the app and the Facebook group.

And he said that ‘Itineris is committed to making ride-sharing safer for everyone’ and has a number of measures in place to allow app users to rate and report drivers. Since its launch, no reports have been made to the company regarding safety issues.

In 2014, 28 Islanders were formally questioned by police in connection with offering lifts for profit through the Jersey Lifts Facebook site. No one was ever charged. At the time, 5,000 Islanders were part of the Facebook group. The group now has more than 14,000 members.

The JEP contacted the States police for a comment but received no response at the time of going to print.

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