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2J. Motive
Contents
The obvious motive in most taxi driver homicides is robbery. In other cases the fact that no money was taken may simply mean that robbery was intended but not carried out. This fact tends to colour analysis of homicides in two ways. First, there is a tendency to regard homicides as an almost accidental byproduct of robbery. Reporters, possibly taking their cue from police, often use the phrase "botched robbery" or "robbery gone wrong" in news articles on homicides. For example:
The "botched robbery" thesis often seems to be an underlying assumption even where the phrase itself is not used. Certainly this is the scenario routinely presented by defense lawyers in the courtroom. Second, based on the fact that robbery constitutes the most frequent motive for attacks on drivers, there is a tendency to equate robbery prevention with homicide prevention. Measures designed to deter robberies are often presented as ways of deterring attacks on drivers. One of these anti-robbery measures is the in-car safe in which drivers can deposit money as they receive it. The driver does not carry the safe key and the safe itself is securely attached to the car. Another measure is the "cashless cab" whose driver will only accept credit card or other non-cash payment. There is a strong element of truth underlying both of these tendencies. Some taxi driver homicides do indeed seem to be unintended consequences of robberies, and no doubt many criminals, once they are aware of the anti-robbery measures being employed, will choose other targets or abandon robbery attempts before they lead to violence. However, there are disturbing aspects to many homicides that don't seem to be addressed by the "botched robbery" thesis or by measures designed to deter robbery. In many of these homicides the violence inflicted on drivers is out of all proportion to the small sums involved. Drivers are savagely beaten, stabbed or shot multiple times, attacked before they have a chance to turn over their money, or executed when they are entirely at the mercy of their killers. In these cases it is difficult not to conclude that the mayhem inflicted on the drivers was either the real intention of the attack from the beginning, or else a purpose that quickly superseded the initial intention to rob. The underlying motive in these homicides seems to be a predatory desire to attack an apparently weak or defenseless victim. Apart from the elements of surprise and overwhelming force that put them at the mercy of their killers, victims may be elderly (Fred Horyn, William Puddington), disabled (Ralph Margeson, Maxime Gélinas) or small in stature (Norman Burgoyne, Charmayne Manke). Racism may be one more factor that arouses the predatory impulse in killers (see Race / Ethnic Origin of Drivers and Suspects). The killers may also feel the need to justify their attacks -- at least in the moment -- by demonizing their victims in some way. The killer may cast the victim as the scapegoat for real or imagined wrongs suffered at the hands of others. Many homicides are carried out with the assistance or in the presence of accomplices. It seems possible that the killer may use a violent attack to impress or intimidate this audience. The key questions are (a) what process leads to this kind of violence and (b) what can drivers do to defend themselves? Given the difficulty of anticipating the actions of violent criminals the best protection probably lies in safety devices (such as shields, cameras, emergency communication systems). However, knowledge of the psychology and sequence of events typical of such attacks may help drivers anticipate trouble and take appropriate defensive action. Unfortunately, at the moment we are hampered by the limitations of our homicide data. In all our cases the story of what happened largely relies on the testimony of killers and accomplices who have a strong incentive to hide or minimize damaging information. We don't have the taxi driver's account of what took place. A true picture of violence against taxi drivers would include cases where drivers survived murderous attacks. There are plenty of such cases but no access to comprehensive data as there is for taxi driver homicides (at least since 1991 when Statistics Canada began documenting homicide cases). There is no counterpart to Statistics Canada's Homicide in Canada survey for non-fatal attacks. Nevertheless, for the purpose of examining how these attacks play out a few selected examples should be enough. These will be added to this section as the opportunity permits. Criminological studies of motive in homicide cases will presumably also provide information that may be of practical value to taxi drivers. The intent is to add summaries and/or references here. Additional discussion of possible motives can be found under these links:
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