Look, Your're On Candid Cabera...

CAB drivers in Sydney are pressing for trials of a camera in their taxis, offering them protection by photographing their passengers.

The camera, fitted above the rear-vision mirror, is activated by the driver if passengers start acting suspicionsly.

The images are stored in a black box in a secure part of the taxi and are available to police investigators if an offence is committed. Otherwise, the pictures are destroyed.

The president of the taxi-drivers' section of the Transport Workers' Union, Faruque Ahmed, said yesterday the minicameras should be introduced as a proven deterrent to acts of violence and robbery.

The NSW Privacy Committee has objected to the proposal, saying installation should be voluntary.

In a preliminary opinion on cab cameras, the committee, chaired by Chris Puplick, said drivers should not be compelled to install them and that installation should be voluntary.

ALEX MITCHELL THE SUN-HERALD May 10, 1998