Vehicle rammings leave 58 officers hurt in past year

Police say these injuries occurred in more than 40 different incidents

Deliberate ramming incidents have left 58 police officers injured in the past 12 months, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has said.

The force said that officers suffered injuries in 40 incidents since 30 November 2024.

Police also revealed that in the past five years more than £400,000 had been spent on repairing vehicles damaged in ramming incidents.

Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said the statistic may not fully reflect the true extent of injuries sustained by police personnel.

Police said ramming incidents were more common urban areas

He told BBC News NI most vehicle ramming incidents happened when people were attempting to get away from police or avoid arrest.

Police said ramming incidents were more common urban areas such as Belfast and Londonderry as well as border areas.

DCC Singleton told BBC News NI the PSNI was facing "a well-documented financial crisis, and this cost obviously impacts on our ever decreasing policing budget."

'Culture of car crime'

"A number of officers will suffer, in some cases quite serious injuries. Those injuries often can extend to long periods of absence, which means that a really important asset is denied to the public," DCC Singleton said.

"It can range from whiplash type injuries right up to really serious injuries.

"As police officers, we come to work knowing we could be faced with difficult and dangerous situations, no one should ever have to accept a scenario in which their vehicle being rammed and them potentially being injured or even killed.

"It simply wouldn't happen in any other profession."

Liam Kelly and Bobby Singleton condemned ramming incidents

DCC Singleton said the number of officers injured in ramming incidents may be higher.

"Many officers opt not to report and simply seek treatment themselves," he said.

Police Federation for Northern Ireland chairman Liam Kelly added said the reported figures were "the tip of the iceberg".