MPs urged to support assaults bill

17 April 2018

Leicestershire Police Federation chair Tiff Lynch has written to the county’s MPs to urge them to support the third reading of a Parliamentary bill aimed at giving greater protection to police officers.

The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Private Members’ Bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons with cross-party support last year and takes a step closer to becoming law when it has its third reading on 27 April.

The proposed law is the culmination of months of campaigning by Federation branches across England and Wales. The nationwide Federation Protect the Protectors initiative has highlighted that the punishments for assaults on all emergency services workers – not just police – are too lenient and fail to act as a deterrent. 

“This bill is another important step towards giving our officers greater protection when they are out protecting our communities,” said Tiff, “I have been delighted with the support the bill has received in Parliament so far and hope that continues. Clearly, MPs agree with us that punishments for those who assault officers, and other emergency service personnel, are too lenient. There needs to be more of a deterrent and things cannot change quickly enough.

“For too long, police officers have been society’s punch bags and I am sick of that being seen as an acceptable part of police work.”

Leicestershire Police Federation released a video last July showing an officer being punched in the face by an offender in custody. That attracted nationwide media attention with more than 45,000 views on social media and acted as a stark example of what officers are forced to deal with.

A video released by Gwent Police last week illustrated the dangers their officers are still facing on a daily basis.

The footage again attracted huge interest in the media, with more than 40,000 views on You Tube, and showed a man attacking officers with two knives as they attempted to stop him harming himself. He just been sentenced to four years in prison for attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to the Gwent constable who dealt with the situation.

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) is now hoping the assaults bill will be backed next week but is also seeking a number of amends: Changing Clause 1 to increase the maximum sentence from 12 months to 24 months, keeping Clause 2 to ensure sexual assault of police officers and other emergency service workers is covered by the bill and ensuring spitting is also classed as an assault on an emergency worker.