246 cop car crashes in three years

Across Northern Ireland PSNI vehicles were involved in a staggering 2098 crashes over the same period resulting in a repair bill of over £1m.

The 246 figure for G District which extends across Londonderry, Limavady, Strabane and Magherafelt was revealed by the PSNI as part of a Freedom of Information (FOI) release.

The PSNI says it categorises all collisions into three categories; slight, minor and major.

“These categories take into consideration factors other than damage sustained, for example, they may include defects, offences and injury. Therefore, the categories used do not necessarily reflect the nature of the collision in terms of damage,” the release states.

In the last three years there have been a total of 2098 collisions categorised as follows: 885 slight contact; 733 minor collisions; 480 major collisions

The total bill for repairs to PSNI vehicles, year on year, in the last three years was £441,851 in 2008; £443,629.29 in 2009; and £353,644.98 in 2010.