Taxi Company Pledges Its Support To Drive Out Crime in The County
Tuesday September 22, 2009
A taxi company has pledged its support to drive out crime during National Crimestoppers Week.
Cheltenham based firm Andy Cars has teamed up with the charity in a bid to cut down on crime in the county.
As of this week, one of the taxis will receive a Crimestoppers makeover and, thanks to local firm Alpha Printers, will be emblazoned with the charity’s logo and phone number.
In addition to this most of the vehicles in the fleet will carry business cards, which include the Crimestoppers number.
And owner Neil Harvey has ensured that all his staff are fully briefed on what to do if they see an incident themselves.
“We have always supported Crimestoppers and the police and I was thrilled to be asked to support the charity in this way,” he said.
“As you can imagine we see all sorts of things when we are out an about and all drivers are fully briefed on what to do if they see somebody breaking the law.
“They all know the Crimestoppers number and are encouraged to report any incidents as soon as they can,” he added.
After being granted permission by Cheltenham Borough Council, one taxi will advertise the Crimestoppers logo and number on it for the next year.
John Pickersgill of Gloucestershire Crimestoppers said, “We are very grateful to both Andy Cars and Cheltenham Borough Council for allowing us to advertise the charity in this way and also to local firm Alpha Printers who so kindly agreed to carry out the makeover.
“Andy Cars are a familiar sight in Cheltenham and throughout the county and are used by all members of the community, in particular younger people who may be more reluctant to report a crime.
“We hope that they will now become more familiar with the 0800 555 111 number and use it to report crimes.”
Cllr Martin Dunne, Cabinet member for housing and safety at Cheltenham Borough Council, added, "We fully support this initiative and Crime Stoppers Week, and we aim to put our communities at the heart of what we do.
“Working with the police, Crimestoppers, and our local community, helps to ensure that Cheltenham remains a safe place to be with regards to people using hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.”
Photographed are, left to right: Dave Green and Neil Harvey– Partners of Andy Cars, Luke Ostle – Alpha Printers, Colin Pilsworth – RARV Project Coordinator, Cheltenham Borough Council, Peter Rogers – Board Member of Crimestoppers and MD of Heart FM, Jeff Williams – Director of Alpha Printers