§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many(a) Irish language and (b) Ulster Scots street signs have been damaged or stolen in each district council area in the past 12 months; what legal sanctions are available in respect of acts of vandalism; what guidelines have been issued to the police to assist in the prevention of vandalism; how many persons have been charged with offences concerned with bilingual signs in each district council area; and what was the outcome of the prosecution. [105459]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 17 January 2000]: Not all of the information requested is retained in a form that would permit details to be extracted without incurring a disproportionate cost.
Vandalism of this nature is recorded as Criminal Damage, which covers a wide range of offences and forms an important element of RUC training supported by operational documents. If the cost of the damage is less than £400 under the Summary Jurisdiction Act (NI) 1953, the penalty may be up to six months imprisonment or a Level 3 fine. If the cost of damage exceeds £400, the penalty under the Criminal Damage (NI) Order 1977 may be up to a 10 years imprisonment on indictment or up to two years on summary conviction.