Sex offences by taxi drivers triple in just three years | UK | News
London’s distinctive black taxis (Image: PA)
Sex crimes committed by taxi drivers operating in England’s capital have tripled in just three years, new data has revealed. The horrific reality of the rapid rise in predatory behavior was revealed through a Freedom of Information request, which found 70 arrests leading to charges were made by the Met Police between January 2023 and December 2025, when the suspect’s occupation was listed as a taxi or minicab driver.
The findings in Greater London reflect growing national concern about the review processes for taxi and private taxi licences. Currently, licensing standards can vary significantly between different local authorities, leading to calls for a more unified and stringent approach to driver background checks. Earlier this year the Express revealed how taxi drivers were operating as military-style surveillance units for gangs, providing “rapid response intelligence” on victims. This follows a spate of grooming cases involving taxi driver networks in the north of England. The Met recorded a total of 10 breaches in 2023; This figure more than doubled to 26 in 2024, and to 34 in 2025.
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Data also shows that the number of taxi drivers raping and sexually assaulting passengers has almost doubled in a year.
While there were no recorded crimes committed by on-duty taxi drivers against backseat occupants in 2023, there were six the following year. And that disturbing figure rose to 11 passenger-related sexual offenses last year alone.
And that disturbing figure rose to 11 sexual offenses involving passengers last year alone. These crimes ranged from the crime of exposing one woman to the rape of another woman.
Britain’s top power also recorded seven cases of sexual assault on a woman, as well as two cases of assault “by penetration” on a woman aged 13 or over.
Taxi drivers filling the streets in London (Image: PA)
Over the course of three years, 17 of the 70 total charges were committed directly against passengers during the voyage. The remaining 52 crimes were stated to have been committed outside of work; 31 of these were rape and three were attempted rape.
Dark figures emerging Sexual Abuse Compensation RecommendationIt also revealed that licensed taxi drivers targeted children on 19 occasions and that the Met Police recorded two cases of rape of a girl aged between 13 and 15, both of which took place in 2024.
Just last year a taxi driver was arrested and charged with causing or encouraging a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity by penetration.
The remaining 22 offenses recorded against licensed taxi drivers in 2025 include: attempted sexual communication with a child, each of the previously mentioned rape cases, two counts of sexual intercourse with a child, seven rapes, eight sexual assaults of women and one sharing of a photograph or film of a person in an intimate situation with the intention of causing alarm or humiliation.
Taxi queues in Manchester (Image: Andrew Stenning/Daily Express/Daily Mirror)
Other grisly crimes recorded during the three-year period include gross indecency with a child, indecent assault on a girl under 14 and assault by touching a boy under 13.
Sexual Abuse Compensation Advice’s Ellie Lamey warns figures show a pattern that ‘cannot be ignored’
He said: “These statements highlight a profound breach of public trust. Passengers are placing their physical safety entirely in the hands of drivers in an isolated, closed environment.
“It is unacceptable to see licensed professionals exploiting this dynamic. The trauma of an assault in a taxi can be devastating, but many survivors are hesitant or afraid to report the abuse.”
a woman uses the Uber app (Image: Getty Images)
“This data should be a wake-up call for licensing boards. We need strict scrutiny and robust safeguards universally so that passengers can travel without fear and perpetrators face absolute liability.”
A spokesperson for the Met said: “The Met is committed to tackling sexual violence and abuse across the city.
“We are delivering major improvements in how we support victims of sexual crime throughout active investigations, providing tailored training to more than 23,000 officers and staff, and providing enhanced victim services to improve the quality of our communications.
“Providing better support for victims and expanding specialist teams to relentlessly pursue the highest risk male predators has led to stronger outcomes for victims and survivors, with the Met tripling charges for rape and serious sexual offences.
“As part of our work under Operation Soteria, we work tirelessly to build trust and encourage victim survivors to come forward and report sexual crimes to us.
“We will continue to work closely with TfL, BTP and local partners, recognizing that lasting security across all aspects of the capital’s transport network requires a city-wide coordinated response.”
For confidential help, the 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Helpline offers free telephone and online chat to anyone aged 16 and over in England and Wales. Call or visit 0808 500 2222 247sexualabusesupport.org.uk.
