tonight a cnn exclusive. when an allegation of criminal misconduct is made against an uber driver, including claims of sexual assault, there s a special unit at the ride-sharing company expected to investigate each claim. we ve obtained an internal memo that raises a lot of concerns. our senior investigative correspondent drew griffin has been reporting on the dangers faced by uber passengers for more than a year. here s his new report. reporter: this internal report obtained exclusively by cnn says uber s siu or special investigations unit, manages nearly 1,200 cases per week. sources familiar with this unit say those cases include fights, serious traffic accidents, and deaths, but many of them involved sexual assaults, sexual misconduct, and rape by uber drivers. uber has responded to cnn saying the number in its own internal memo is not an accurate reflection of serious safety
some have little relevant experience according to a half dozen former uber employees cnn spoke with. one uber investigator went from being a starbucks shift manager to handling calls from victims. another was a kitchen manager at chipotle according to a review of online résumes though the report cites many have law enforcement investigations and military backgrounds. it says most love working for uber but also details the serious level of stress and anxiety. the staff directly interact with perpetrators and victims, discuss deeply disturbing sexual and other assaults. the report documents untreated depression and profound stress, requiring clinical care in at least six of its workers and warns of the potential for suicide. in the month since the report was done, uber tells cnn all key recommendations in the report have been acted upon or are in the process of being acted on, including counseling, better work schedules and conditions, improved training and hiring,
more experienced investigators. uber says its transparency report detailing sexual assault and misconduct cases by uber drivers will be released this year once the audit process is over. but sources tell cnn uber could tell most of the story right now. one former manager telling cnn it s a technology company built on data. the numbers are known. drew griffin joins me now. since you started asking ruber about their rape cases, they ve made extensive safety changes. are you sources saying more could be done? yes. and you re right, anderson. uber has strengthened its background checks of u.s. drivers. it s launched some new safety features on its app. it says it s committed to safety. but former employees and managers say the company has the ability to do more, starting with a better acknowledgement of the sheer numbers and warning potential victims, women, about this issue. the company says that s all coming when it releases this transparency report sometime
incidents that occur on the uber platform because it includes reports that, following investigation, are found to be unrelated to uber, withdrawn, and/or fraudulent, and adds we are working with experts to audit our safety incident data so that it can be responsibly released this year. cnn has been requesting the number of alleged rapes reported to uber for more than a year. a cnn investigation of public records, lawsuits, and police files last year exposed more than 100 documented cases where drivers were accused of sexually assaulting or abusing passengers. sources continue to tell cnn the true number of reported rapes to uber is much higher. a second cnn report detailed thousands of convicted criminals, even sexual offenders
and felons, were approved to drive for uber. we re putting safety at the heart of everything we do. reporter: the company has launched several changes aimed at improving safety. with just a single tap, let loved ones know you re on your way. reporter: but former uber employees cnn spoke with say it s not enough, and the problem is much larger than uber is willing to publicly admit. uber s internal report completed in may, after cnn s expose, warns of the consequences should the full scope of the problem emerge. we know from the underreporting of incidents by cnn, the report concludes, the cost to the brand and reputation of uber by a single case can cost the company millions of dollars in lost revenue from riders who hold a lasting impression that we are unsafe and not worthy of their trust. the report was conducted to analyze workloads and stress levels of the 60 uber investigators and shows how the company struggled to handle the