The attack on a bus lane camera car in west Belfast, which also resulted in an assault on two staff members, was a disgraceful episode in every way.
It must have been a particularly terrifying experience for the woman behind the wheel of the parked vehicle, which carried official markings, when a thug stamped on its roof and managed to break its windscreen on Tuesday afternoon.
The perpetrator then reportedly grabbed her by the throat as she attempted get out of the car and became involved in a further confrontation with her colleague, in the second similar incident on the Falls Road in recent weeks.
It must be hoped that both outrages, the latest of which was captured on video and has since been widely viewed on social media, are swiftly followed by serious criminal charges.
