Tougher sentences for so-called joyriders have been proposed

Plans to introduce two new offences of "aggravated vehicle taking" and "causing death by aggravated vehicle taking" were published on Tuesday.

The proposals were developed following a review of road traffic penalties set up earlier this year.

Criminal justice minister John Spellar said the legislation was targeted specifically towards Northern Ireland.

"This destructive crime harms the entire community and inflicts untold suffering on those who have lost loved ones because of it," he said.

CAR CRIME PROPOSALS Aggravated vehicle taking: maximum five year sentence Death or grievous bodily injury by aggravated vehicle taking: maximum 14 years Dangerous driving: maximum sentence increase from two to five years

"It has no place in a civilised community.

"This has an appalling effect on families and on communities... the loss of a loved one - especially someone so young - is devastating.

"How often when you hear of these cases you find out that the driver is unlicensed, uninsured and sometimes even disqualified as well."

He added: "They (the community) want and we want those people to go away for a long time and to be out of society for a long time."

'Death drivers'

Tougher sentences for causing death by dangerous driving and careless driving are to be introduced in the new year.

The maximum penalty for these offences will be increased from 10 to 14 years through the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Kieran Conlon of the group Families Bereaved Through Car Crime said those who killed someone while driving a car had to be given stiffer sentences.

"My son, who was 21, was knocked down and killed by death drivers just over a year and a half ago," he said.

"They didn't stop - they didn't hit the brakes. They drove on and burnt the car out.

Chief Inspector Peter Farrar said runarounds posed a great difficulty

"The person who killed my son got four years, which means he will be out in two. He will be out on my son's anniversary - I think my son was worth a bit more than that."

West Belfast mother Mary McCombe, whose 15-year-old daughter Debbie was killed by the driver of a stolen car in March 2002, said it was a positive move.

"If they give them a stiffer sentence certainly it is going to deter anyone from going out and stealing a car and driving it," she said.

"It is the only way I think it is going to work. If they get two or three years and then it is cut in half - that is nothing to them."

However, Dominic Hyland from the Colin Safer Neighbourhood Project in west Belfast said the changes did not go far enough.

Debbie McComb, 15, was killed on the Springfield Road in Belfast

"In my eyes, killing anyone - whether with a car or anything else - is murder," he said.

"I personally think it should carry a sentence which qualified for murder."

As part of the package, the police are also being given extra powers to deal with so-called "runaround" cars.

Chief Inspector Peter Farrar said these posed a great difficulty for police.

"These are vehicles which may have only cost �50 to �100 and nobody ever licensed or had any insurance for.

"It doesn't matter if the car is stolen or whether you own it - we will have a power of arrest there and then to take that person off the street."