New legislation to tackle illegal car meets
Policing minister Sarah Jones has announced strict new laws that will apply to cars and e-scooters seized because of anti-social behaviour (ASB). Legislation put before MPs will allow officers to dispose of vehicles quicker, giving hooligans less time to reclaim them and start offending again. The Home Office says it will help tackle so-called car meets, where hundreds of drivers cause misery for neighbours by revving up engines and playing loud music late into the night.
Current laws and impact on communities
Under current laws, police must wait 14 days before being able to dispose of a vehicle. Unauthorised car gatherings are often illegal if they involve anti-social behaviour, dangerous driving, or breaching local injunctions. These events have plagued streets in Greater Manchester and Cheshire in recent years. Earlier this year, police dispersed around 70 vehicles as part of a crackdown on 'planned car cruise meets' which saw hundreds gathering in Stockport and Salford. Angry locals have taken matters into their own hands, just last year blocking a road in Alderley Edge. Videos on social media showed various cars being driven around a roundabout along with the sound of revving engines as onlookers watched on.
Scenes of 'mayhem' in December
There were scenes of 'mayhem' last December when cars cruised at 'high speed' through the Manchester Airport tunnels as crowds watched on, with a huge police response called to the scene. Speaking of the new legislation, Policing minister Sarah Jones said: "People across the country are fed up with off-road bikes tearing through parks, dangerous e-scooters on pavements and the chaos of illegal car meets. These new powers give the police the tools they need to seize and destroy the vehicles that cause so much disruption to our local communities."
Support from AA and ASB charity
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at The AA, said: "Dangerous and anti-social use of vehicles can bring chaos and danger to local car parks and roads. The government giving the police more powers to curb activities that continuously aggravate communities is welcome and will hopefully make people think twice before causing a nuisance with their pride and joy." Rebecca Bryant, chief executive of ASB awareness charity Resolve, said: "Vehicle-related ASB can have a serious and lasting impact on communities. The dangerous, intimidating or nuisance use of vehicles can make residents feel unsafe, trapped and powerless in their own neighbourhoods. Where vehicles are being used to cause alarm, harassment or distress, communities rightly expect a swift and visible response. We therefore welcome these measures, which give police quicker and more effective powers to deal with vehicles that are being used anti-socially, and should help give communities confidence that vehicle-related ASB will be taken seriously and dealt with quickly."
ASB Awareness Week
The announcement comes during ASB awareness week, designed to warn thugs ahead of the summer. The policing minister added: "ASB Awareness Week is a timely reminder that tackling this issue is a shared mission. This Government will not stop until every community feels safe."
