More than two officers assaulted each day in Hertfordshire

12 June 2024

'Attacks on officers should not be accepted', says the chair of Hertfordshire Police Federation after shocking figures revealed on average more than two officers a day are assaulted in the Force area.

Luke Mitchell has called for courts to use their sentencing powers to the full extent on offenders who attack police officers.

He was commenting after figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that 186 Hertfordshire Police officers were injured in an assault in the year ending 31 March 2023. A further 592 officers were assaulted without receiving any injury, with a total of 778 assaults in the 12-month period.

Nationally, there were 40, 330 attacks on officers across England and Wales, with 11,022 of them resulting in an injury.

Luke said: “These shocking figures show that assaults on police officers are becoming far too common, with an average of more than two a day in Hertfordshire.

“I suspect the figures are a lot higher, but often officers, sadly, see minor assaults as part of their duty and, in a lot of cases, think there is little point in reporting the matter.

“Despite new legislation [Assault on Emergency Workers Act 2018] coming into force, I haven’t seen any change in sentencing, and the act hasn’t had the desired effect. I have no doubt that there are some officers who feel the sentences are too weak, there’s just no point in reporting the offences.”

Luke added that it is not just cases involving a single assault, it is the ‘constant drip feed of assaults’ officers continue to face.

“Over periods of time, this can have a real impact on not just the physical health of my officers but the mental health and wellbeing too, which in turn, leads to burnout and staff ultimately wanting to leave the Force,” he continued.

Luke said he acknowledges that work done under Chief Superintendent Simpson and in line with Op Hampshire, is trying to ensure officers getting the appropriate support needed when assaulted.

“However, until we see proper sentencing for those who assault our officers, things won’t get any better. We live in a society now where some parts of the public have no respect for those in law and will feel they can assault or bait officers without any sanction.”

Luke is urging members to report all assaults, adding: “Assaults on police officers should not and must not be accepted as part of the job, I want my members to ensure they report all assaults and take positive action.

“We need to send a strong message that such attacks will not be tolerated. To do that, we need the full support of the wider criminal justice system.

“We need the toughest possible sentences to be given to those who do attack officers. Their actions must have consequences.”

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