Uber and Lyft create database of crime and rapist drivers

Uber and Lyft have teamed up to create a database of drivers who have been fired from their call services for complaints of sexual assault and other crimes. Reported by the Associated Press.

The information service will initially enter the database of drivers who work for taxi aggregators in the United States. However, the system will be open to other companies that hire employees to perform services such as delivering groceries or ordering from restaurants.

The “joint security program” system will be controlled by HireRight. She specializes in background checks. The use of a third party is intended to address potential legal issues with companies, including competitors such as Uber and Lyft, accessing each other’s HR information.

“Lyft and Uber are competitors, but on the security issue, we agree that people should be protected no matter which platform they choose,” Tony West, Uber’s chief attorney, told The Associated Press.

The security program is the next step in the anti-violence program. Uber made a promise to fix the situation 15 months ago after it was revealed that in 2018 there were more than 3,000 sexual harassment from taxi aggregator drivers in the United States.

Sharing information on reported sexual harassment is considered particularly important as victims of such crimes often do not make formal complaints to the police. It is this gap that allows potentially dangerous drivers to elude routine background checks based on legal documents.

In order to protect confidentiality, passenger information will not be reported to the database, and incidents leading to the driver’s firing will be listed in six six different categories, which include unwanted touching, sexual contact and murder.

An additional layer of protection has been endorsed by the National Network Against Rape, Abuse and Incest Victims’ Rights Group, which criticized taxi companies for not conducting stricter screening of their drivers.

“Sexual assault thrives in secrecy,” said Scott Berkowitz, president of the network. “With this initiative, criminals will no longer be able to hide or evade responsibility by simply switching to another taxi service.”