ONGOING efforts to tackle illegal e-scooter use are ultimately intended to “prevent injury”, according to the roads policing lead for the States police – who has stressed the force is not trying to criminalise those who make “a genuine mistake”.
Insp Lawrence Courtness explained that the force was still trying to advise and educate e-scooter users who ride illegally on public roads or spaces before seeking to prosecute them, but added that officers would “have to move more towards enforcement” if this proved ineffective.
His comments come just a few weeks after the release of new guidance on dealing with offenders issued by Jersey’s Attorney General.
“The ultimate aim is to basically prevent injury,” Insp Courtness said.
“We’ve got people with no helmet going across a pedestrian crossing on a scooter and ending up in Southampton hospital – that’s obviously the worst case scenario, or potentially hitting and hurting someone else.”
But he also noted that the force did not want to “criminalise people for making a genuine mistake”.
He said: “It’s often a bit of a misunderstanding and the people we really want to deal with are the ones who are persistent and just flagrantly don’t care.
“If it becomes clear that we’re not having an effective impact by doing a little bit more engagement, then they will have to move more towards enforcement.
“We’re not seeing swarms of these things flying around. But as we move on, it does become more of an issue – we now at least have got something we can combat it with.”
