A Real-Life Version of 'Hack'

The CBS show, "Hack," follows the adventures of a renegade cop turned crime-fighting cab driver, played by actor David Morse.

"Hack" is fictional, but sometimes life has a strange way of imitating art, according to The Early Show national correspondent Jon Frankel.

In New York, some 4,500 cab drivers have been recruited to serve as the eyes and ears of police in a program called "CabWatch."

"A year ago I got robbed," says Hesham Tomoum; he had been driving a New York taxi for 17 years when a moonlight robbery turned him into a crime-fighter.

"Somebody robbed me, just take all my rent money, $500 and something change," he says.

Five days later, Tomoum spotted the same robber getting into a cab in front of him, so he called 911 and followed in hot pursuit.

"I tell my passenger,'I have to follow this cab because this cab is going to be in danger,'" he recalls. Police responded, the robber was caught, and Tomoum was hailed as a "Cab Watch Hero."

"Cab Watch is the world largest neighborhood watch," says Ivy League grad and licensed cabbie Jason Diaz, who founded the program.

"The idea for Cab Watch came when a friend of mine got mugged and shot," says Diaz. "Because they are on the road 24 hours a day, seven days a week, they see more than anyone. On average, taxi drivers witness or experience eight times as many crimes or emergencies as the average citizen."

The goal was to turn those cab drivers into the eyes and ears of New York's police.

"There are 12,000 taxis in New York City verses only 1,500 police cars. So the idea is we can increase the number of patrol cars in New York City by 8 times by mobilizing every cab driver," Diaz says.

Potential members are recruited at the Taxi and Limousine Commission, where they receive safety training, a 911-direct cell phone, and identification stickers. Membership is free, and cabbies who report a crime or emergency, drivers can receive recognition, discounts, and even cash rewards.

"Cabbies are looking for accidents, robberies, hit-and-runs, pickpockets. Really any sort of emergency that's happening outside of the taxi or inside," Diaz says.

But while David's Morse's "Hack" character actually takes on the criminals single handedly, Cab Watch draws the line there.

"Cab Watch is all about letting the police do the handiwork of crime prevention; they are not supposed to get involved,"
says Diaz.

Four years since its creation, the program is considered a success and is credited with saving many lives.

Taxi and Limousine Commissioner Matthew Daus hopes the show "Hack" will encourage more participation.

"Clearly 'Hack' is fiction and Cab Watch a reality. And we hope that more cities throughout the country get a little bit more of a dose of that reality," Daus says.

"Cab Watch is about helping people", Tomoum says, "that's how you feel inside when you go home, you help someone and you feel so great," Cab Watch generates about 8,000 calls to the police annually. And although most are for routine emergencies like accidents or fires, approximately 20 percent are for serious crimes, like robberies and murders.