A recent surge in ramming attacks on police officers in Northern Ireland has sparked debate about tougher punishments. While prison sentences are often handed out, many argue that longer driving bans would be more effective in deterring repeat offenders.
Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton says most ramming incidents are attempts to avoid arrest, for offences ranging from no insurance to robbery or assault. 'Offenders are... using their vehicle as a weapon against us.' In the 12 months up to the end of November, 58 officers were injured. To put that in context, it is three times more than the number injured during the week of racist rioting across Northern Ireland in August.
Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said most incidents were attempts to avoid arrest, for offences ranging from no insurance to robbery or assault. “Offenders are, in essence, using their vehicle as a weapon against us.” Punishment for this rarely seems to fit the crime. In a typical case from 2023, a Belfast man who rammed a police car was given a seven-month prison sentence and a 15-month driving ban. He had 91 previous convictions, one-third for motoring offences. The arguments for and against longer custodial sentences are well-rehearsed and apparently endless, but the case for longer driving bans seems clear and strangely overlooked. In Northern Ireland, as in Britain, judges have wide discretion to impose bans. More serious offences attract mandatory disqualification for minimum periods of two or three years. In practice, those minimums are maximums. Anything longer is rare and liable to be reduced on appeal. While lifetime bans are possible in theory, case law has established 10 years as the absolute limit. The courts take the view that very long bans hamper rehabilitation by restricting options to work and lead a normal life. The opposing view is that getting persistent offenders off the road makes reoffending harder – a career criminal without a car has as much trouble getting to “work” as anyone else.The real danger now is of Sinn Féin quiet quitting in Northern IrelandFor persistent offenders, the most effective means of rehabilitation yet discovered is turning 3
POLICE OFFENSES PUNISHMENTS DRIVING BANS NORTHERN IRELAND
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