§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many(a) stinger and (b) similar devices used for the rapid arrest of a speeding vehicle have been purchased by the police in the past five years; and on how many occasions the occupants of stopped vehicles have been (i) arrested and (ii) successfully prosecuted. [60855]
§ Jane KennedyThe PSNI has purchased 314 stinger spiked belts (245 of size 4.5m and 69 of size 7.6m) within the past five years. No similar devices have been purchased.
The PSNI advise that recording of the use of stingers was implemented only at District Command level in September last year; therefore arrest statistics over the past five years are not available.
Similarly, prosecution information specifically on persons stopped by the use of stingers is not available.