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<td colspan="2" bgcolor="#990000" valign="top"><font size="1" color="#FFFFFF" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Local
News - December 2001 - E: <font size="1"><a href="mailto:ken@myvillage.co.uk">ken@myvillage.co.uk
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<td valign="top" colspan="2" bgcolor="#990000"><a name="pol"></a><font size="1"><b><font size="1" color="#FFFFFF">Police
warning on minicab assaults </font></b></font><font size="1"><b><font color="#FFFFFF">-
28/12/01</font></b></font></td>
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<p><font size="1">Police are warning New Year's revellers to be on
guard after it was revealed that sex attacks by unlicensed minicab
drivers in central London are rocketing to more than a 1000 a year.
</font></p>
<p><font size="1">New Year is regarded as a problem period as there
will undoubtedly be vulnerable women who may have drunk too much
and who cannot find, or cannot afford, a licensed cab. The recent
30% hike in black cab fares, are also reckoned to be forcing more
women to use unlicensed cabs. </font></p>
<p><font size="1">The new statistics reveal that there have been 150
recorded rapes and sexual assaults by minicab drivers this year,
compared to 66 four years ago. Police believe that the true figure
is probably up to 10 times greater due to the 'serious under reporting'
of such assaults. </font></p>
<p><font size="1">Drivers target their victims as they leave nightclubs,
pubs, and restaurants and use a range of techniques to trap them.
One woman was offered a bacardi and coke, which police believe was
spiked, as she sat in the taxi. Some men offer free journeys in
return for sex. </font></p>
<p><font size="1">On one police operation more than half the minicab
drivers stopped in London in a series of roadside checks had criminal
records. Some had convictions for serious sex and assault offences
while others were armed with knives and baseball bats.</font></p>
<p><font size="1"><b>Police warn that women should never take a mini
cab alone.</b><br>
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<td colspan="2" bgcolor="#990000" valign="top"><font size="1"><b><font color="#FFFFFF">Camden
council tax: over £1,000? - 07</font></b></font><font size="1" color="#FFFFFF"><b>/12/01<a name="cam"></a></b></font><font size="1" color="#FFFFFF" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b></b></font></td>
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<p><font size="1">Camden residents may face average council tax bills
of over �1,000 next year. Homes in Band-D for council tax may well
see their bills rise from an annual �950 to �1,026 from next April.
</font></p>
<p><font size="1">But Camden Councillors are saying they may be able
to avoid the rise - and cutbacks to the library service- because
the amount of Government money coming to the Borough is set to rise
by 7% more than anticipated. </font></p>
<p><font size="1">Camden's total budgeted expenditure for next year
is close to �277 million with �198 million of that coming from central
government coffers. Last year, Camden residents had to pay an extra
4.8% on their council tax bills. Though this was the fourth lowest
rise in the Capital, it still meant Camden householders were paying
the sixth highest tax in London. </font></p>
<p><font size="1">Speaking to the Ham & High Councillor Phil Turner,
executive member for leisure and community services, said: "It just
needs saying again and again that no decisions have been taken and
I think we can probably avoid any cuts." </font></p>
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