NIOSH: Security cameras in cabs help protect drivers

Washington – Installing security cameras in taxicabs may help prevent violence against taxi drivers,NIOSH researchers suggest.

Using newspaper articles from 26 cities, researchers from NIOSH’s Division of Safety Research assessed the effectiveness of security cameras and security partitions in reducing driver homicides. Over the 15-year period studied, cities with cameras installed in cabs saw the rate of taxi driver homicides decrease to 7 times lower than pre-installation levels. Overall, the taxi driver homicide rate in these 26 cities was 3 percent lower than in cities without cameras or partitions installed in cabs, researchers found.

Noting that this study relied solely on newspaper clippings, researchers said they plan to conduct future research by interviewing taxi drivers.

The study was published online June 11 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.