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A one month dashcam pilot scheme has been launched in Newry, Mourne and Down Policing District (D District) in a bid to tackle a worrying rise in police vehicle ramming incidents across Northern Ireland.
The trial comes after 17 ramming incidents were recorded in D District this year alone, with more than 100 such attacks happening across Northern Ireland. The attacks have resulted in approximately £140,000 in repair costs, with over 20 vehicles removed from service.
District Commander Superintendent Lynne Corbett said the primary aim of the pilot is to deter and reduce ramming incidents, keep officers safer, minimise fleet damage and enhance criminal justice outcomes when offenders weaponise vehicles against police. The pilot will also seek to refine the use of cameras in police vehicles and identify a recognised standard for evidence extraction.
A serving officer in the district has described his terrifying experience of being in a vehicle which was rammed in October of this year. The officer said: "Whilst out on patrol we were alerted to a report of a potentially intoxicated driver. As further details came in, we made our way to the area he was believed to be in with the aim of stopping his vehicle and preventing harm to other road users. We activated our lights and sirens as we made our way towards the suspected drink-driver, however as we approached, a second vehicle appeared and, apparently assuming police were trying to stop him, he deliberately drove his vehicle at speed into the lefthand side of our patrol car. Our vehicle was violently shunted and in turn struck a member of the public's car. The offending vehicle also struck a van travelling in front of them as they made off across the border."
The incident left two police officers, two older people and two young men all injured, whilst a PSNI vehicle remains off the road for repair. The officer added: "It is certainly an extremely scary and traumatising experience to go through, to have someone deliberately drive toward you at speed with the intent of stopping you and injuring you. It is something I hope not to experience again."
Supt Corbett said: "The deliberate ramming of police vehicles constitutes a serious and continuing threat to our frontline operational capability and as District Commander I am pleased that D District has been chosen for this pilot, giving our officers additional evidentiary capabilities and protections. There must be a lot more awareness of, and praise for, the invaluable and often dangerous work officers are doing in communities, and zero tolerance for those who use vehicles to attack them for simply doing their job and keeping people safe."
The pilot scheme will enable police to build evidence-based intelligence on minimising both officer injury and fleet loss, strengthen operational resilience, and send a clear message to offenders that using a vehicle as a weapon will not be tolerated.
