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of Rights, away from convicted felons and child sex offenders are required to register for life <br /> with law enforcement agencies. If, as a society, we have determined a convicted felon (of any <br /> classification of felony) should have such freedoms restricted, then it is not unreasonable for us, <br /> as a local government, to ban them from driving a taxicab where the weakest of our numbers are <br /> at their mercy. <br /> I have found there are probably on the average of 20 taxicab license applicants per month <br /> and only about five (5) or so of these are convicted felons. Many others have no criminal or <br /> traffic record at all. Restricting the criteria to the recommended level will not seriously hamper <br /> the taxicab companies from finding drivers. <br /> There are other sections of this ordinance that prohibit applicants from obtaining a license <br /> if they are of "poor character", but such statements have been stricken from statute because they <br /> are subjective and lack clarity. By restricting our criteria to convicted felons, we keep the <br /> language of the statute clear and objective. <br /> Recommendation: It is the recommendation of the Decatur Police Department that the council <br /> pass the amended ordinance prohibiting convicted felons from being issued taxicab driver <br /> licenses by the City. ' <br /> �jps II <br />