AG -v- Pereira [2013] JRC 214 (08 November 2013)

JUDGMENT THE BAILIFF: 1. On a daily basis police officers put their personal safety on the line in order to protect the rest of us. They are entitled to the Court's protection when people assault them so as to send out a clear message to others that it is not worth assaulting the police. That is why the Court has so often stated that anyone who commits an assault of any gravity on a police officer in the execution of his duty can expect a substantial prison sentence. 2. In this case you ignored the orders of the police officer and you resisted his attempt to arrest you. When he fell to the ground you kicked him twice, one landing on his mouth; fortunately you were wearing soft shoes. As you walked off the officer continued to perform his duty and he pursued you. This time you grabbed him by the throat and pushed him into a hedge before running off. Sometime later you were seen by another police officer on the beach near Le Bourg slip. As described by the Crown Advocate, you had two rocks in your hand. You threw one at the officer, which struck him in the back; you then ran towards the officer and struck him on the head with the other rock. There was then a struggle and, to his credit, the officer managed to overcome you and then call for assistance. Both officers suffered injuries, albeit fortunately they were minor. 3. When interviewed your attitude perhaps came through, because you were asked how you felt about it and you replied "I feel bad but they are animals." Underlying this it is clear you have a deep-seated alcohol and drug dependency and you were obviously under the influence at the time of this offending; you had just discharged yourself from hospital after a suicide attempt and this all arose in the context of an incident with your partner. Although you have only a very minor record, you do have one previous conviction for assaulting the police, albeit that that was clearly less serious and you were fined. 4. We take into account that you have pleaded guilty, we have read carefully the reports which are before us; we have noted your good work record and the letters and references that we have received; we also accept that you are now remorseful and we have read the draft letters that you want to send to the two police officers. We are also pleased to hear of the progress you have made in prison whilst on remand. As your advocate has said, you are now both physically and emotionally in a much better position than you were. So we have taken all that into account but, for offending of this nature against police officers, a custodial sentence is inevitable. Indeed, given the fact that there were two major assaults, the Crown's conclusions might be thought to be on the low side. However the Court has decided not to increase them but will grant the conclusions. 5. On Count 1; 1 month's imprisonment, on Count 2; 15 months' imprisonment, on Count 3; 3 months' imprisonment and on Count 4; 1 month's imprisonment. Those are all concurrent, making 15 months' imprisonment. On Count 5; 15 months' imprisonment but that is consecutive, therefore the total is 2½ years' imprisonment. 6. We then have to consider the question of whether to recommend deportation. The first limb of the test is obviously met. You have a previous conviction for assaulting the police, you have now committed these serious offences and you are assessed as being at moderate risk of reoffending. We are quite satisfied that your continued presence in the Island is detrimental. 7. But we must balance against that your rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. You have been in Jersey since you were 15 and you are now 30, although you did spend some 2-3 years in Guernsey. You have three sisters in the Island but your parents still live in Madeira. You did have a relationship with a partner in Jersey but that has broken down; accordingly you have no children and no partner in the Island. The only family in the Island are your sisters and their children. Prior to this offending your relationship with your sisters and their children was fractured, probably because of your drug and alcohol dependency. But since this offence the relationship has been rebuilt and they have been contacting you in prison; so we do take that into account together with the fact that you have a good work record and we take into account the length of time you have been here. 8. The fact remains that these were serious offences. It is not the first time you have assaulted a police officer and you are assessed by the Probation Service as posing a significant risk of harm to police officers executing their duty. 9. We have carefully considered the right balance to strike but in our judgement the interests of the community outweigh the considerations which point against deportation and therefore we are going to make a recommendation that you be deported at the end of your sentence. Authorities AG-v-Letchford 2000/173A. AG-v-Driscoll [2005] JRC 083 . AG-v-Ollivier [2005] JRC 147 . Mandel-v-AG [1989] JLR N 11c. Harrison-v-AG [2004] JLR 111 . Camacho-v-AG [2007] JLR 462 . Page Last Updated: 16 Sep 2016 BAILII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Donate to BAILII