Road Races Act 2016

Summary

The Isle of Man Constabulary responded to a request for prosecution statistics under Section 14(1) of the Road Races Act 2016, disclosing that 42 individuals have been prosecuted since April 2016 for unauthorized presence or vehicles on closed roads.

Key Facts

• Prosecutions under Section 14(1) are tracked via three specific police offence codes, with only two resulting in prosecutions since April 2016.
• A total of 42 persons have been prosecuted for offences related to unauthorized persons or vehicles on closed roads between April 2016 and June 2019.
• Penalties imposed range from cautions to fines up to £1,500 and potential imprisonment terms of up to 70 days.
• The Constabulary partners with other government departments to distribute safety leaflets to visitors during road race events.
• Police data does not perfectly match legislative offence descriptions, requiring aggregation of specific codes for reporting.

Data Disclosed

• 42 persons prosecuted
• April 2016
• 17 June 2019
• £1000 fine
• £250 fine
• £500 fine
• £1500 fine
• 60 days imprisonment
• 21 days imprisonment
• 70 days imprisonment
• 15 prosecutions for unauthorized persons
• 27 prosecutions for unauthorized vehicles

Original Request

1. Can you advise on the number of people that have been prosecuted under Section 14 (1) of the Road Races Act 2016, since 2016 2. Can you provide the fine or penalty imposed in each case, the sex of the individual (m or f) accused?

Data Tables (4)

Full Response Text

Isle of Man Constabulary Freedom of Information Department of Home Affairs Headquarters Tromode Road, Douglas Isle of Man, IM2 5PA Tel: +44(0)1624631394

Our ref: 855265 26 June 2019

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 13 June 2019 and which states:

"1. Can you advise on the number of people that have been prosecuted under Section 14 (1) of the Road Races Act 2016, since 2016 2. Can you provide the fine or penalty imposed in each case, the sex of the individual (m or f) accused?"

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information that is being released to you.

Section 14(1) of The Road Races Act 2016 comprises a list of offences categorised in eight sections:

A person commits an offence … if the person without lawful authority or reasonable excuse — (a) obstructs or otherwise hinders the conduct of a race held pursuant to a racing authorisation; (b) obstructs or otherwise hinders an official performing a function in connection with a race held pursuant to a racing authorisation; (c) fails to comply with a requirement imposed by a marshal under section 10(3)(d); (d) enters, is found or remains on a road or land in contravention of a prohibition having effect by virtue of section 7; (e) removes, defaces or obscures a sign or notice erected for the purpose of, or in connection with, racing authorised by a racing authorisation; (f) fails to comply with a requirement imposed by the Department under section 7(5)(b); (g) otherwise contravenes a racing authorisation or any of its supplemental provisions; (h) keeps an animal, or owns or is in charge of a vehicle, that is found on a road or land the subject of a prohibition having effect by virtue of section 7; or (i) contravenes an alternative provision mentioned in section 16(3). Road Races Act 2016 Section 15 There is not a perfect match between the offences detailed in legislation and offence descriptions recorded by Police data for prosecutions. For the current system only three offence descriptions could have been recorded to cover the above Road Races Act offences: Local Code Offence Description RRA 2016 equivalent 460201 Allowing Animal To Stray On Closed Roads 14(1)(h) 460202 Unauthorised Person On Closed Roads 14(1)(d) 460203 Unauthorised Vehicle On Closed Roads 14(1)(h) Of these, only the final two have been prosecuted since start of April 2016 (periods shown are crime years, which run April to March, and in this case summarize the number of offences prosecuted in each year) Offence Description 2016- 2017 2017- 2018 2018- 2019 2019- 2020
(to 17 Jun 2019) UNAUTHORISED PERSON ON CLOSED ROADS 3 3 4 5 UNAUTHORISED VEHICLE ON CLOSED ROADS 7 19 1 Grand Total 10 22 5 5 In total 42 persons have been prosecuted since April 2016 to date. Offence Description Sex Results Text 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019- 2020 (to Grand Total

2017 2018 2019 17 Jun 2019) CAUTION 1 3

4 CAUTION/REPRIMAND

1 1 FINED £1000 FORTHWITH OR 60 DAYS IMPRISONMENT IN DEFAULT COSTS £125

1 1 FINED £250 COSTS £125 1

1 2 FINED £250 FORTHWITH OR 21 DAYS IMPRISONMENT IN DEFAULT COSTS £125

1 1 FINED £500 COSTS £125

3

3 M FINED £500 COSTS £50 1

1

2 UNAUTHORISED PERSON ON CLOSED ROADS F FINED £1500 FORTHWITH OR 70 DAYS IMPRISONMENT IN DEFAULT COSTS £150

1 1 UNAUTHORISED PERSON ON CLOSED ROADS Total 3 3 4 5 15 CAUTION 7 14

21 FINED £100

1

1 FINED £250

1

1 M NO EVIDENCE OFFERED - DISMISSED

1

1 UNAUTHORISED VEHICLE ON CLOSED ROADS F CAUTION

2 1

3 UNAUTHORISED VEHICLE ON CLOSED ROADS Total 7 19 1 27 Grand Total 10 22 5 5 42 In respect of parts 3 – 7 The Constabulary works in partnership with other Government Departments in respect of the TT and other organisations to promote messages of safety and staying within the law. Attached is a copy of the leaflet flyer which is circulated but the lead on these messages are the DfE. The leaflet is provided to visitors by members of the Road Safety Team and is also distributed via the welcome centre, campsites, main hotels, sites of local interest.
88496 IOMC TT2019 Leaflet.pdf Please quote the reference number 855265 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely