Chairman tells BBC Radio Kent of the dangers Police Officers face

3 September 2020

People who assault officers should get jail time after worrying new stats revealed the high number of attacks on them, Kent Police Federation has said.

Government figures show 1,145 Kent Police officers were assaulted on duty over 2019/20 -  that’s 22 every week. Nearly 100 of those assaults left officers with an injury of some kind.

Speaking to BBC Radio Kent this morning, Federation Chair Neil Mennie (pictured) said arrest and a subsequent custodial sentence should be mandatory for anyone who assaults an emergency service worker.

“That should be the default position,” he said. “We’ve already got the [Protect the Protectors] bill, and better sentencing is coming through, but we’d like to see more consistency in that sentencing.

“Ultimately, we need to make sure if someone attacks a police officer then the consequences of doing that are significant enough to act as a deterrent.

“Sentencing should be proportionate to the type and severity of the assault law, and we understand that sentencing and the law is complex, but we need significant punishments for those who assault officers,” Neil added.

“If someone assaults one of our cops, they should get a custodial sentence.”

Officers are still being spat at and coughed on and being threatened with COVID-19 on the streets of Kent.

“Just last week we had three incidents of officers being spat at and threatened with Coronavirus,” Neil said.

“Officers are putting up with it with real stoicism, but it’s being used to increase the level of threat and abuse towards them.

“They are very professional, and they put up with a lot, but this is clearly not right, it affects them, and it is very waring.”

“It’s been weaponised by a minority of people – it’s a real concern. The figures are staggering. Nationally 84 assaults take place on officers every day; it’s clear that something needs to be done.”

The debate around Taser focuses on the perceived dangers of it to the public – but that focus needs to shift onto why people are in a situation in which they might be tasered in the first place, Neil told the station’s Breakfast show.

“Taser has been rolled out in Kent and continues to be rolled out. But it’s important to understand it’s not something we revert to quickly and there is a whole process we go through before its use,” he said.

“The training around Taser is very extensive. Some officers fail the course which goes to show the standards we expect before it’s issued.

“Officers carry a whole range of equipment, and they are trained on how to use it and when to use it. There’s a risk with any force being used, but the focus needs to be put on the person who has put themselves in that situation through their behaviour where force may have to be used against them.

“The focus should be more on the safety of the officer and the public – officers often have to make a split-second decision if someone confronts them with a knife, for example, these are extremely stressful situations.”

And the use of Taser is not a route to officers becoming routinely armed, Neil said.

“It’s an important difference between carrying Taser and being armed – Taser is another tool; it’s no different to the spray or the baton we would carry.

“We are not an armed police service, and there is no appetite from the public or the officers for that to happen. It would be very sad if we had to do that.”