Jersey Unreported Judgments

 [2004]JRC015

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

 

23^rd January 2004

 

 

The Attorney General

-v-

C.T.K.

First Indictment

 

1 count of:	taking and driving away a motor vehicle without the owner's consent, contrary to Article 28(1) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 (count 1);
1 count of:	driving under age, contrary to Article 13 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 (count 2);
1 count of:	using a motor vehicle uninsured, contrary to Article 2(1) of the Motor Traffic (Third Party Insurance) (Jersey) Law 1948 (count 3);
1 count of:	driving with excessive alcohol, contrary to Article 16A of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 (count 4);
1 count of:	escaping from lawful custody, without force, contrary to Article 22A of the Prison (Jersey) Law 1957 (count 5).

 

Second Indictment

 

1 count of:	escaping from lawful custody, without force, contrary to Article 22A of the Prison (Jersey) Law 1957 (count 1);
1 count of:	taking and driving away a motor vehicle without the owner's consent, contrary to Article 28(1) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 (count 2);
1 count of:	driving under age, contrary to Article 13 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 (count 3);
1 count of:	using a motor vehicle uninsured, contrary to Article 2(1) of the Motor Traffic (Third Party Insurance) (Jersey) Law 1948 (count 4);
1 count of:	failing to stop, contrary to Article 26(1) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 (count 5);
1 count of:	dangerous driving, contrary to Article 14 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 (count 6);
1 count of:	failing to stop and report an accident, contrary to Article 27 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 (count 7);
1 count of:	resisting arrest (count 8).

 

Breach of: (1) 2 year Probation Order with 6 months' curfew and attendance at OINTOC made by the Royal Court on 5^th November 2003 ([2003]JRC199); and (2) a further concurrent 2 years Probation Order made by the Magistrate's Court on 18^th November, 2003, following a guilty plea to 1 count of malicious damage.

 

 

Age:     15.

 

Plea:    Guilty, breach of Probation Orders admitted.

 

Details of Offence:

Only several weeks after a previous Royal Court sentencing on 5^th November, 2003, and in breach of a curfew imposed by the Royal Court, the Defendant drove his mother's car without consent, a licence or insurance and while under the influence of alcohol.  (Counts 1 to 4 on the first indictment).

 

While on remand at Greenfields, he escaped (Count 5), failed to attend Youth Court and was later arrested in an intoxicated condition.

 

He was remanded again at Greenfields but escaped a second time (count 1 on the second indictment).  He was granted bail over Christmas but failed to surrender and went on to take his mother's car again without consent, a licence or insurance (counts 2 to 4 on the second indictment).  He failed to stop when pursued by the Police (count 5).  He then drove at speeds of up to 80 mph to try to evade capture (count 6) before crashing the car and running away without reporting the accident and without a care for his injured passengers (count 7).  Later that evening he resisted arrest when located in St Helier (count 8).

 

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty pleas, youth, drink problem, recent family difficulties, incidents only involved his mother's car, no serious injuries.

 

Previous Convictions:

35 previous offences, the majority involving similar motoring offences.  Also various drink related convictions, offences of dishonesty, and malicious damage.  Four previous breaches of non custodial penalties.

 

Conclusions:

 

First Indictment

 

Count 1:	12 months' Youth Detention
Count 2:	£300 fine or 1 month Youth Detention, in default of payment; 36 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 3:	12 months' Youth Detention, concurrent; 36 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 4:	3 months' Youth Detention, concurrent; 36 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 5:	3 months' Youth Detention, (concurrent with sentence passed on count 1 of second indictment but consecutive to all other sentences)

 

Second Indictment

 

Count 1:	6 months' Youth Detention (concurrent sentence passed on count 5 of the first indictment, but consecutive to all other sentences)
Count 2:	12 months' Youth Detention, concurrent
Count 3:	£300 fine or 1 month's Youth Detention; in default of payment; 36 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 4:	12 months' Youth Detention, concurrent; 36 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 5:	£300 fine or 1 month's Youth Detention, in default of payment
Count 6:	12 months' Youth Detention, concurrent; 36 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 7:	3 months' Youth Detention, concurrent; 36 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 8:	3 months' Youth Detention, concurrent

 

Probation Orders of 5^th and 18^th November, 2003 to be discharged.

 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

 

First Indictment

 

Count 1:	6 months' Youth Detention; 24 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 2:	6 months' Binding Over Order; 24 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 3:	6 months' Youth Detention, concurrent; 24 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 4:	3 months' Youth Detention, concurrent; 24 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 5:	3 months' Youth Detention, concurrent with sentence passed on count 1 of the second indictment, but consecutive to all other sentences

 

Second Indictment

 

Count 1:	6 months' Youth Detention (concurrent with sentence passed on count 5 of the first indictment, but consecutive to all other sentences
Count 2:	6 months' Youth Detention, concurrent; 24 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 3:	6 months' Binding Over Order; 24 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 4:	6 months' Youth Detention; 24 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 5:	6 months' Binding Over Order
Count 6:	6 months' Youth Detention; 24 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 7:	3 months' Youth Detention; 24 months' disqualification from driving (concurrent with other disqualification from driving sentences)
Count 8:	3 months' Youth Detention

 

Probation Orders of 3^rd and 18^th November, 2003 discharged.

 

TOTAL:

12 months' Youth Detention; 24 months' disqualification from driving.

 

The Defendant had consistently failed to take the chances afforded him and failed to respond to non custodial sentences.  The Court was quite satisfied that Youth Detention appropriate.  Overall conclusions agreed, but changes made to individual sentences.  Also a reduction in the period of disqualification.  Court felt that a period of stability would be beneficial.

 

 

C.M.M. Yates Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate Mrs. S.A. Pearmain for the Defendant.

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

 

 

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        Now CTK, on 5^th November we gave you a chance by placing you on probation despite your previous record but you spurned that chance by re-offending very shortly afterwards.  You then escaped a couple of times from Greenfields.  We gave you another chance when you asked for it by granting you bail over Christmas but you spurned that chance by failing to return to Greenfields and committing further offences at the end of December.  This included, yet again, taking your mother's car and more motoring offences including driving dangerously at speeds of up to 80 miles an hour whilst being chased by a police car before crashing.  It was lucky that you and your passengers were not seriously injured.  We have put off sentencing you, as you know, in the hope that it might have been possible for you to go to a residential hostel in England but following their visit to Jersey that is not possible.  That then leaves us really with no alternative but Youth Detention.  Article 4 of the 1994 Law, says that we should only sentence you to Youth Detention in certain circumstances but we are quite satisfied in this case that there has been a history of failure on your part to respond to non-custodial sentences and you appear unable or unwilling to respond to them.  So there is no alternative to Youth Detention and all that remains is to decide how long it should be. 

2.        Your Advocate has urged that it should be less than twelve months.  We have given careful consideration to that but we think that the offences you have committed require the sentence which has been moved by the Crown.  We think, additionally that this may give you, over a period of some eight months, a period of stability and time for reflection.

3.        In the circumstances we are going to grant the conclusions although we are going to vary the make up slightly.  Count 1, six months'; count 2, six months' Binding-Over Order; count 3, six months'; count 4, three months'; count 5, three months'.  On the second indictment, count 1, six months'; count 2, six months'; count 3, six months' Binding-Over Order; count 4, six months'; count 5, six months' Binding-Over Order; count 6, six months'; count 7, three months' and count 8, three months' Youth Detention.  All of those sentences are to be concurrent save for those passed on count 5 of the first indictment and count 1 of the second indictment; they are to be concurrent with each other but consecutive to the other sentences which makes the twelve months' in all. 

4.        As to disqualification, we have listened to what your Advocate has said and we agree that we would not like to disqualify you for too long after you become free to drive.  We are giving you a chance in that respect.  We hope that, by then, you will have seen the error of your ways; so we are going to disqualify you for two years on all the counts where the Crown has moved for disqualification.  Finally, we would like to say this: we very much hope, as we have been told by Mr Pike, that your education can continue at La Moye.  We understand Greenfields will make great efforts for your education to continue and we earnestly support that.  Secondly, we hope that it will be possible for you to continue with your music whilst in Youth Detention, if that is something that you wish to do; and thirdly, we hope that in Youth Detention an offending behaviour programme and substance misuse programme can be made available.  So we hope that when you emerge you will have derived some benefit from the time that you will have spent in prison.  All the Probation Orders are discharged.

Authorities

Criminal Justice (Young Offenders) (Jersey) Law 1994

Current Sentencing Practice: -

Part B8 - 5: Escape from Lawful Custody

Part B8 - 53 AD4: R -v- Sutcliffe (1992) 13 Cr. App R. (S) 538

Part B8 - 53 A06: R. -v- Wilson (1992) 14 Cr. App. R. (S) 314

Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956

Motor Traffic (3^rd Party Insurance (Jersey) Law 1948

Magistrate's Court Guidelines (September 1999)

A.G. -v- CTK & Ors [2003] JRC199