Chair welcomes tougher sentencing on officer assaults

19 November 2018

An assault on a police officer is an assault on society, says Leicestershire Police Federation chair Dave Stokes.

Dave’s comments came as the new Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act came into force.

The act creates a new aggravated offence of an assault against a member of the emergency services and doubles the maximum sentence for these cowardly and despicable acts from six to 12 months.

The Federation says the act is a significant win in its high-profile Protect the Protectors campaign, describing it as a welcome new weapon in the fight against assaults on emergency services.

Dave said: “Nobody should face attack because of their job or their uniform, and certainly not emergency workers such as police officers, firefighters, paramedics, nurses and doctors

“This change in the law is welcomed by the Federation and sends out a clear message that such attacks are not acceptable. They are an attack on us as a society. This new law makes clear it won’t be tolerated and those who cross that line will be dealt with robustly.”

Last year there were 26,000 assaults on police officers and more than 17,000 against NHS staff. Assaults on prison officers are up 70 per cent and there has been an 18 per cent increase in attacks on firefighters.

The Federation hopes the new legislation will act as a deterrent and provide justice for officers, paramedics, firefighters and other public servants.

But Dave says there is work still to be done.

“We have seen in some parts of society a culture developing that it is acceptable to assault an emergency worker,” he said. “We need to make absolutely clear that it is not, and we hope this new legislation will help change that culture.

“This is a significant step in the right direction but we need it to be backed up by the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts, so we call on them to make full use of the new powers.

“And we will continue to make the case for a stronger deterrent, for a wider roll-out of Taser, body-worn video and spit and bite guards and the appropriate levels of staffing.”

The new legislation, which came into effect on 13 November, has the backing of Home Secretary Sajid Javid who said: “At a time when our brave police officers and staff are working tirelessly to crack down on violence, I find it despicable that some people think it is acceptable to assault emergency service workers.

“This act ensures judges can come down hard on these cowardly individuals and makes clear that we are committed to protecting those who protect us.”

The Federation’s Protect the Protectors campaign was launched at Parliament in February 2017 in connection with a Ten Minute Rule Bill introduced by Halifax MP Holly Lynch.

She had joined PC Craig Gallant on patrol in West Yorkshire in summer 2016 and dialled 999 after witnessing the single-crewed officer being surrounded by a hostile crowd.

The General Election brought the bill to a premature end but the Labour MP for Rhondda, Chris Bryant, introduced his Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Private Members’ Bill securing cross-party support to become law.

Mr Bryant said: "The growing tide of attacks on emergency workers – including ambulance workers, NHS staff, fire officers, prison officers and police – is a national scandal.

“All too often attackers get away with little more than a slap on the wrist. I hope this new law will help put a stop to that attitude. An attack on an emergency worker is an attack on all of us and attackers should face the full force of the law."

Protect the Protectors was backed by the Prisoner Officers’ Association and British Transport Police Federation as partners.