Re: [Mpls] city purchased security equipment
NI Krasnov writes: Please don't tell me that government can't find $1,000,000 to protect the lives of cab drivers. Both the City and State can find justifications for direct and indirect subsidies for real estate, business development, and all sorts of social programs, but not for the lives of cab drivers? One of the primary duites of government is to preserve the public peace. If there are no robberies and murders of cabbies, the police, district attorney's office, coroner, and HCMC will not have to expend any further resources and money to investigate, prosecute and recover from the damage. If saving the lives of cab drivers isn't enough justification, perhaps the stench of the money saved by preventing the crimes in the first place will convince those who need an economic incentive. I've previously suggested a number of ways to prevent further robberies and murders of cab driver. The Mayor and City Council should take note. You have been so advised, be guided accordingly. Dennis Plante Responds: Socially, where does it stop? Is it a simple cost analysis? What's next? Footing the bill for bullet proof glass and surveillance cameras in all small retail establisments that don't feel they can financially foot the bill to keep their employees safe? I'm a small general contractor. Everytime OSHA changes it's safety requirements, should I be compensated by government to comply with these changes? Currently, I pass it along to my customers. If I'm out of line in my cost increases, it's pretty simple, I don't get the work. I don't know about anyone else, but the last time I toook a cab in NYC, I believe it cost me substantially more than a comparable ride in MPLS. And if I'm also not mistaken, NYC didn't foot the bill to have the safety devices installed in the cabs. _ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
RE: Re: [Mpls] city purchased security equipment
Frankly, I don't think cameras are the solution. They don't seem to deter folks from robbing and killing convenience store clerks. Whatever the solution is, I don't support public money either. People here have said the fares are too low to even support the drivers so why not raise them to provide a better wage and some security equipment. I think the foot activated strobe light was a good one. Connie Beckers -- FOLWELL THE GODDESS OF GLASS www.goddessofglass.com You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. ~John Lennon TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] city purchased security equipment-Cabs, Safety
I worked as a temp at Hennepin County Violations Bureau eterring ticket and fine information. The tickets written to cabbies go and the city does seem to use violations by cab drivers as an income source. Fines under the statutes for cabbies often amounted to hundreds of dollars rather than tens of dollars for similiar offenses by other vehicles. This makes sense to the exent that cabs are a public amenity but it also seems that the cabbies are not necessarily out of line in asking for some return on the combination of fees, liscenses, and high fines paid to the city by those in their industry. Is there readily available information on total dollar income to the city when one considers fees, liscenses and fines? I understand that cab fares in Minneapolis already rank high when compared to many other cities. As an individual who does not own a car and rarely uses a cab, primarily when I have bought more groceries than I can readily carry on the bus, I would rather fare increase not be the only option to increase safety for cab drivers. David Strand Loring Park --- Michelle Gross [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Among their concerns are security equipment, of course, but also police services to cabbies. They told me that they get hassled by police and ticketed for silly reasons (their term) like wearing sandals but when they call for the cops, they take forever to show up. __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] city purchased security equipment
snip Please don't tell me that government can't find $1,000,000 to protect the lives of cab drivers. Both the City and State can find justifications for direct and indirect subsidies for real estate, business development, and all sorts of social programs, but not for the lives of cab drivers? One of the primary duites of government is to preserve the public peace. If there are no robberies and murders of cabbies, the police, district attorney's office, coroner, and HCMC will not have to expend any further resources and money to investigate, prosecute and recover from the damage. If saving the lives of cab drivers isn't enough justification, perhaps the stench of the money saved by preventing the crimes in the first place will convince those who need an economic incentive. I've previously suggested a number of ways to prevent further robberies and murders of cab driver. The Mayor and City Council should take note. You have been so advised, be guided accordingly. N.I. Krasnov Loring Park ** TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] city purchased security equipment
I happened to be downtown yesterday afternoon and talked with a some cabbies who are part of a leadership group that has been meeting with the city. Among their concerns are security equipment, of course, but also police services to cabbies. They told me that they get hassled by police and ticketed for silly reasons (their term) like wearing sandals but when they call for the cops, they take forever to show up. One woman talked about being robbed on the Northside. She called police (via her dispatcher) and then waited for about 40 minutes. Of course, the perps were long gone. She finally got tired of waiting (and losing livelyhood) so she drove down to the service station at Lyndale and Broadway and tried to get cops there to take a report. They refused, since she had left the scene. She then decided just to brush it off and get back to work. When I mentioned N.I. Krasnov's idea about the floor operated emergency button, they really liked it and said they had been talking about something similar. They said police would probably ignore it but other cabbies would likely come to their rescue. When you consider that cabs make up part of the public transportation infrastructure of the area, it makes sense to me that the city would assist cabbies with their security needs. Clearly, the city sees cabs as part of the transportation system or they would not regulate this industry so heavily--everything from fares to dress code of drivers, where and how they provide services, etc. is controlled. So even though cab companies are privately owned, they are quasi-public in the same way as power companies and other necessary parts of our infrastructure. (This is the same rationale used by the feds to prop up the airlines.) Target, on the other hand, is not even close to being necessary for the functioning of this city (except, perhaps, for providing some jobs) but City Hall is happy to fill their hand every time they stick it out. Go figure. The cabbies I spoke with told me the strike is pretty much a done deal. They said it will happen as early as first of this week. Maybe it will help the city to see how necessary cabs are to the functioning of the city, especially to tourism. Michelle Gross Bryn Mawr At 11:57 AM 8/10/03 -0500, N.I. Krasnov wrote: snip Please don't tell me that government can't find $1,000,000 to protect the lives of cab drivers. Both the City and State can find justifications for direct and indirect subsidies for real estate, business development, and all sorts of social programs, but not for the lives of cab drivers? One of the primary duites of government is to preserve the public peace. If there are no robberies and murders of cabbies, the police, district attorney's office, coroner, and HCMC will not have to expend any further resources and money to investigate, prosecute and recover from the damage. If saving the lives of cab drivers isn't enough justification, perhaps the stench of the money saved by preventing the crimes in the first place will convince those who need an economic incentive. I've previously suggested a number of ways to prevent further robberies and murders of cab driver. The Mayor and City Council should take note. You have been so advised, be guided accordingly. N.I. Krasnov Loring Park ** TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: Re: [Mpls] city purchased security equipment
I don't think it should be up to the city or state to provide such equipment. The state or city can require the companies to have them in their vehicles and have the companies pay for the equipment themselves. Especially now with the state and cities are cutting funds to the Police, Fire and Public Works departments. There have been studies done on both in car cameras and Ballistic shields. Additional information can be found here: http://c.rathbone.home.att.net/facts.htm However, New York does a reimbursment plan, but I believe that they can do that due to the number of taxis and the way they regulate and license taxis, which is not the way Minnesota is setup to do. Russell Sasaoka Coon Rapids (Formerly of Loring Park) Get your free Web-based E-mail at http://www.startribune.com/stribmail TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] city purchased security equipment
In a message dated 8/9/2003 4:49:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Peter T Schmitz [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: the president of the cabdrivers association asked city leaders to subsidize surveillance cameras for taxi cabs. Mayor Rybak evidently responded that public money wouldn't be provided for private businesses. What he said was that it would be unreasonable, and he's right. Shall the city buy video equipment for all stores, since sometimes stores get robbed and employees are shot? Then the city can buy video surveillance equipment for banks, since they get robbed. And let's not forget that we have folks shot in private homes, so let's have the city buy a system for all dwellings. What the city could do is require that any cab or livery that makes pickups within Minneapolis have a specified security system. This won't help any cabbie in a cab licensed in another town, though--a cabbie who picks up a fare in Richfield and drops them across the street in Minneapolis wouldn't have to have a Mpls license. And a lot of the cabs you see on Minneapolis streets are actually licensed in the 'burbs. The state could pass a law applying to all cabs within the state, but I can see Moorhead cab owners objecting to the cost when their cabbies aren't at risk. All that being said, I've ridden in some cabs here, and the security is such that I wouldn't consider driving a cab for any amount of money. I witnessed an attempted armed robbery of a Somali cab driver in Eagan, in broad daylight on a weekday afternoon. I was sitting on the balcony of a friend's condo in a good neighboorhood and saw a cab pull into the parking lot of the building across the street. About a minute later the cabbie jumped out of the cab and ran toward the building, holding up a cell phone and yelling, Get out of my cab! Two young black men slowly got out, watching him, and ran off between two buildings. The cabbie saw me, came over and handed his phone so I could tell his dispatcher where the cab was (the cabbie was a bit excited and wasn't speaking clearly). The dispatcher called police, who arrived, talked to me about what I saw, then called a Bloomington unit which had a tracking dog. I found out two days later that they did track the two robbers to a housing complex about a mile away, and caught them. Apparently they had pulled something similar a day before. --M.G. Stinnett Jordan TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
