Police crack down as street racing moves across Midlands to dodge High Court injunction
A police crackdown on street racing has launched in Birmingham today, after a High Court order banning car cruising and racing meets came into force last month.
A similar injunction in the Black Country has forced racers to find new ground, prompting police in Birmingham to seek the ban. It means anyone involved in racing will go straight to court - and could face prison.
Video report by Charlotte Cross:
Hundreds of people regularly line the city’s roads for the illegal races, filling the streets with the sound of revving, cheering and music until the early hours of the morning - and posing a serious risk to other drivers and pedestrians nearby.
But until now, police could only prosecute those caught for minor motoring offences such as speeding or driving without insurance.
A High Court injunction has changed all that. Imposed at the end of October, it means anyone caught racing or attending or organising a race can be hauled straight before the courts.
Among the officers often sent to break up the meets is Sgt Adam Jobson, from West Midlands Police’s traffic unit.
“It’s a nationwide problem - I don’t think you’ll ever get rid of it completely,” he said.
“But with additional powers and introductions of injunctions, and other different powers that we can utilise, we can have a better go at enforcing it and deterring that problem.”
He knows better than most the dangers posed by street racing.
It comes after the force first obtained an injunction covering the whole of the Black Country in December 2014.
Since then, 11 people have been prosecuted for violating the ban. They all received suspended prison sentences.
Sgt Jobson said the injunction had been successful in cutting down on the number of races in the area - but said it had meant the problem had moved elsewhere.
“As a result of the Black Country, that behaviour and activity has shifted across the West Midlands, to an area that before never had the injunction. So now, with the injunction across Birmingham, we'll hopefully eradicate that behaviour,” he said.
“We've worked with Warwickshire Police, West Mercia Police and Staffordshire Police to make sure we have a consistent approach across the whole of the Midlands and the surrounding areas, so it isn’t just displaced, it’s prevented completely.”
Assistance Police and Crime Commissioner Ashley Bertie said road safety was a key priority for the force.
"We've had a lot of success, we've had many individuals hauled in front of judges, facing hefty fines and imprisonment based off our injunction in the Black Country,” he said.
“We now want to see the same happen in Birmingham as well - to tell anyone who wants to get involved in car cruising that they will be prosecuted.”
Watch police footage of street racers in action in Birmingham: