Licence photo plan to curb fraudsters
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by Karen Miles • Fraudsters selling LGV test passes to novices will be able to continue cashing in unless the procedure for obtaining driving licences is urgently tightened up, police are warning this week.
Detectives in west London are urging stricter controls on licences as the Department of Transport considers new forms of driving tests and driving licences required to conform to European Union legislation. The warning follows a growth in the number of LGV-qualified drivers taking the test for others who are unwilling or unable to pass the test for themselves.
Police have discovered that for a payment of £3,000 impersonators have been taking LGV tests and then forwarding on pass certificates to the unqualified drivers.
Although the crime is largely Londonbased, it is believed that would-be LGV drivers have come south from the Midlands and North to obtain licences.
Although one of the alleged major players in the LGV driver licence fraud has broken bail and skipped the country, the police warn that a "substantial minority" of those involved with driving schools could still be peddling false licences for unqualified drivers.
Detective Inspector Michael Byrne, who led the investigation, argues that the only way to eradicate the fraud is to include on the licence application a passport-type section with a photograph. A professional person would have to sign the photo, endorsing its authenticity.
He says his rec ommendations have gone to the Department of Transport through Scotland Yard officers.
The Department of Transport this week confirmed that to harmonise Community legislation, photographs would have to he on UK driving licences by 2001.
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DI Byrne believes the case of the man, formerly from Hounslow, who allegedly acted as a sole dealer in LGV and car driving licences, is not a one-off.
The man, who owned a coach and two trucks, last year broke a £70,000 bail and is thought to have disappeared to India. Police allege that he earned at least £100,000 for arranging and carrying out tests for unqualified LGV and car drivers. El Including photos on the driving licence is being considered as part of a plan to harmonise licences through Europe. The European Commission is calling for the UK to consult on photos and has given a deadline of 2001 for the DOT to decide.
In the last year, Five people have been prosecuted for impersonating others to gain a driving licence and 160 cases have been reported by the Driving Standards Agency. Of those reported, 126 were in the London area (figures relate to both LGV and car licences).