Tom Benjamin (who does not want his real name disclosed) has been a taxi operator in the tourist capital since 2003 and admits to paying money to the police to allow him to operate his 'robot' (illegal) taxi without harassment.

"Is pressure from every side," he tells The Sunday Gleaner, "But what must I do? It is just the system; I give the police what they want and I am allowed to work freely. I am all right; even if I don't work, I ensure that something gets to them. It is all about survival."

Benjamin continues: "It is much better than they putting my car on the wrecker. If that happens, I will have to pay for the police to take back the court tickets, pay the wrecker fee and still get a ticket to pay at the tax office."

Despite this experience he refuses to report the dirty cops, a "mistake" he made once before.

Threatened

Benjamin was once a complainant against a cop who demanded $10,000 to take back six tickets given for operating a robot taxi. The cop was held in a sting operation, found guilty in court and given six months sentence.

"From the moment he was arrested, I knew I would have to leave the area, or find another work," he recounts. "I was targeted and at one stage threatened by his co workers; that was when I decided to move to MoBay."

According to Benjamin, wrecker services function differently in the second city compared to what obtains in the Corporate Area.

"In MoBay, if you see a wrecker on the road the police, municipal police or transport authority inspectors are not too far away," he explains, "but in the city (of Kingston) ... the wrecker operators are a law to themselves. They are allowed to drive around and take up any vehicle, without even notifying the owner where they taking it," he claims.