There has been another report of a young woman being sexually assaulted by a taxi driver in the Halifax area.  

The 22-year-old woman who was allegedly assaulted says it happened just after 4 a.m. on Sunday.

It’s the second such report in two weeks, and the fourth in the last three months. With the rise in incidents, cab companies are thinking more about safety.

“It’s very unfortunate that these things happen,” says Yellow Cab Driver and GM, Majid Latif. “However, as a cab driver, let me assure you, cabs are safe.”

Police won’t say whether the drivers in question work for a specific company, only that the women hailed taxis with roof lights.

They say taking note of that roof light number is important for passengers, but some say it’s time for Halifax to join other municipalities in requiring drivers to keep their own records.

The idea of mandatory dash cameras in taxis is supported by three of the major cab companies in the HRM. Representatives for Yellow Cab, Casino Taxi, and Bob’s Taxi say cameras promote safety for drivers and passengers alike.

Residents in the Halifax area say “knowing what’s happening, if there was something that you’d know, to be safe, that would make you feel a lot better.”

About 20 percent of Yellow Cab’s 185 drivers have a dash-cam. However, there is a cost, and Bob’s Taxi says they want to see the municipality chip in. Some councillors are welcoming the discussion.

“We need to do some work with the committees within HRM and with the taxi companies,” says HRM Councillor Jennifer Watts. “I also think the community needs to look at the larger issue.”

One of the larger issues, according to Halifax Regional Police Victim Services, is that sexual assault is a crime of opportunity and difficult to prevent.

“I think it’s a community effort,” says HRP Victim Services Caseworker Angela Jeffrey-Haynes. “I don’t think prevention lies solely on police, and I don’t think prevention lies on the women preventing their own sexual assault from happening.”

Angela Jeffrey-Haynes says she believes more women have been coming forward recently, and she says there have been more charges laid as a result.

No one has been arrested in the most recent case. Police are still investigating whether any of the recent reports are related.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritchie