Courts must get tough on officer assaults

14 July 2020

Doubling the maximum sentence for offenders convicted of assaulting officers must be backed up by the criminal justice system, says the chair of Humberside Police Federation.

Pete Musgrave says that the courts have to use the sentencing powers available to them to send out the message that attacks on emergency workers will not be tolerated.

He was speaking after the Government launched a four-week consultation that could increase the maximum jail sentence for assaulting emergency workers to two years.

Pete said: “Our brave members and their emergency service colleagues have put themselves in harm’s way to look protect the NHS and serve their communities during the pandemic. And one of the things that has shocked and saddened me during this unprecedented crisis has been the number of attacks on police, in particular those where people have spat at or coughed on officers while claiming to have coronavirus. That is just despicable.

“As a Federation, we have repeatedly raised our concerns about the number of assaults on our members and our Protect the Protectors campaign led to the Assaults on Emergency Services Workers (Offences) Act being introduced in November 2018.

“But, sadly, the one-year maximum jail sentence it set out for these offences doesn’t seem to be a suitable punishment or a deterrent to others.

“I welcome these proposals for a two-year maximum sentence, but we need our courts to hand down consistent sentences and to use the powers available to them or any increased sentences will have little impact.”

The four-week review into the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 was launched by justice secretary and Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland and Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday. 

John Apter, national chair of the Police Federation, has also welcomed the consultation and has reiterated his calls for more consistency in sentencing.

He said: “The Police Federation has been relentless in pushing for an increase in maximum jail sentences for those who attack emergency workers.

“However, any further increases in sentencing could be meaningless without the full support of the courts. This should include consistency of sentencing, which is not the case at this time.

“Assaulting a police officer is completely unacceptable and there must be a suitable deterrent. I accept there will always be times where an offender does not receive a custodial sentence. However, this must be the exception and not the norm,” he added.