Geezah
05-05-2005, 09:02 AM
Police officers yesterday called for a new law to tackle the growing trend of suspects deliberately trying to run them down to avoid arrest.
Dubbed "motor maiming", more and more policemen are being injured by people using their car as a weapon.
The Police Federation yesterday called for a specific offence to be created to bring penalties in line with those for gun and knife crime.
Jan Berry, chairman of the federation, which represents rank and file officers, said they were keen to see a new crime of using a vehicle to "maim or harm, or cause alarm or distress to, another person".
Mrs Berry said that as well as police officers being regularly targeted, members of the public were also being injured and terrorised.
In an extension to the "road rage" concept, vehicles are being used to settle domestic disputes, petty arguments and, late at night outside clubs, to "scare the living daylights out of people".
She said on many occasions, suspects are charged with a relatively minor offence such as careless driving.
Mrs Berry said: "It is about attitude and recognising that a vehicle can be a weapon in the same way as guns and knives.
"There is no deterrent at the moment. If you are going to use a vehicle in that way and get charged with careless driving it is unlikely to stop you doing it again."
In the latest high-profile incident, Special Constable Andreas Hagemann was knocked down in Tynemouth, north Tyneside, after trying to issue a company director with a parking ticket.
Paul Hughes, 40, who last Friday admitted dangerous driving,grinned as Mr Hagemann was forced to roll out of his path.He will be sentenced later.
Officers at West Midlands Police, Britain's second largest force, said that reports of an officer being driven at are now coming in almost every day.
One of their officers was killed in October 2001. Pc Malcolm Walker was chased down and deliberately rammed off the road by a man in a stolen car.
Pc Walker, 45, had been following the suspect on his motorcycle when the driver suddenly reversed, tried to run over him, and then chased him through the streets of Birmingham for several minutes before hitting him. Nicholas Walkers, 24, was convicted of murder and jailed for life.
Paul Tonks, chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, said: "This has become an almost everyday occurrence. We have got to stop this slaughter of the police and the public by criminals using vehicles as lethal weapons.The punishment does not fit the crime."
Link (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=M44FB5VTH03DBQFIQMGCM5OAVCBQUJVC?xml=/news/2005/05/05/nmaim05.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/05/05/ixhome.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=48807)
They need to reintroduce the death penalty, sh!t like this is just crazy, or give all officers the choice to arm themselves.
Dubbed "motor maiming", more and more policemen are being injured by people using their car as a weapon.
The Police Federation yesterday called for a specific offence to be created to bring penalties in line with those for gun and knife crime.
Jan Berry, chairman of the federation, which represents rank and file officers, said they were keen to see a new crime of using a vehicle to "maim or harm, or cause alarm or distress to, another person".
Mrs Berry said that as well as police officers being regularly targeted, members of the public were also being injured and terrorised.
In an extension to the "road rage" concept, vehicles are being used to settle domestic disputes, petty arguments and, late at night outside clubs, to "scare the living daylights out of people".
She said on many occasions, suspects are charged with a relatively minor offence such as careless driving.
Mrs Berry said: "It is about attitude and recognising that a vehicle can be a weapon in the same way as guns and knives.
"There is no deterrent at the moment. If you are going to use a vehicle in that way and get charged with careless driving it is unlikely to stop you doing it again."
In the latest high-profile incident, Special Constable Andreas Hagemann was knocked down in Tynemouth, north Tyneside, after trying to issue a company director with a parking ticket.
Paul Hughes, 40, who last Friday admitted dangerous driving,grinned as Mr Hagemann was forced to roll out of his path.He will be sentenced later.
Officers at West Midlands Police, Britain's second largest force, said that reports of an officer being driven at are now coming in almost every day.
One of their officers was killed in October 2001. Pc Malcolm Walker was chased down and deliberately rammed off the road by a man in a stolen car.
Pc Walker, 45, had been following the suspect on his motorcycle when the driver suddenly reversed, tried to run over him, and then chased him through the streets of Birmingham for several minutes before hitting him. Nicholas Walkers, 24, was convicted of murder and jailed for life.
Paul Tonks, chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, said: "This has become an almost everyday occurrence. We have got to stop this slaughter of the police and the public by criminals using vehicles as lethal weapons.The punishment does not fit the crime."
Link (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=M44FB5VTH03DBQFIQMGCM5OAVCBQUJVC?xml=/news/2005/05/05/nmaim05.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/05/05/ixhome.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=48807)
They need to reintroduce the death penalty, sh!t like this is just crazy, or give all officers the choice to arm themselves.