The official version of this document can be found via the PDF button.
The below content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost, therefore it should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments.
1240/5(5861)
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. JOHN
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 30th NOVEMBER 2010
Question
Will the Minister advise whether he is aware that cloning of vehicle number plates is happening in Jersey, and, if so, is he able to provide members with details of the number of reported offences over the last 3 years; the number of prosecutions, if any; and the number of offences dealt with at Parish Hall level?
Where cloning has taken place and motoring/parking offences have been subsequently committed, is this recorded on the record sheet of the registered owner and, if so, what action is taken to clear the name of the legal owner once it is established that the offence was committed by a third party?
Answer
Cloning' refers to the process by which one vehicle is made to look like another i.e. vehicle identity theft.
Criminals make a 'clone' of another car by replacing the number plates on their car with the registration plates of another similar vehicle.
The States of Jersey Police have no evidence of this type of offending in Jersey and there have been no prosecutions for cloning offences over the past 3 years.
The States of Jersey Police have recently investigated a matter which was referred to them. It was not a criminal cloning offence, as it would appear that an administrative error resulted in a car registration plate inadvertently being generated with one incorrect numeral, which matched the registration that was legitimately allocated to another type of vehicle. Action has been taken to resolve the matter.
Over the last 3 years the States of Jersey Police have dealt with 13 recorded cases of number plate offences. These have ranged from cases of an individual finding a number plate and placing it on a vehicle inappropriately to tractors towing trailers bearing different number plates. 5 of these offences were dealt with at Parish Hall Enquiry, 4 at the Magistrate's Court and in 4 cases no further action was taken.