The Council has published sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of motoring offences committed while driving vehicles without the owner’s consent.

The guidelines will come into effect on 1 April and cover four aggravated vehicle taking offences:

• Aggravated vehicle taking – death caused
• Aggravated vehicle taking – injury caused
• Aggravated vehicle taking – dangerous driving
• Aggravated vehicle taking – vehicle/property damage caused

Also released today and coming into effect on 1 April are:

• a new, overarching guideline consolidating all existing guidance on driver disqualification
• a new guideline for vehicle registration fraud offences, including forging, altering or fraudulently using vehicle number plates, and
• an increased in the starting-point fine for people using mobile phones while driving from Band A (50% of relevant weekly income) to Band B (100% of relevant weekly income).

The new guidelines are published alongside the Council’s response to the consultation we ran between February and May 2024 covering aggravated vehicle taking offences guidelines, disqualification and other motoring related matters.