'Toughest sentences possible for those who assault officers'

19 June 2024

Nottinghamshire Police Federation chair Simon Riley has called for ‘the toughest possible sentences’ to be handed to offenders who attack officers.

His call came as official figures showed that almost two Nottinghamshire Police officers a day are assaulted.

The data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed there were 708 assaults on police officers in the year to 31 March 2023, with 169 resulting in injury.

In England and Wales, the figures showed there was a total of 40,330 attacks on officers, with 11,022 resulting in an injury to an officer.

Assaults

Simon said: “We must never lose sight of the fact that our members are only human and should not be attacked just for doing their jobs.

“An assault on an officer can have a huge physical and psychological impact on an officer, and it can also take its toll on their family members and on their colleagues.

“These figures are shocking, and we need to reduce the number and severity of the attacks.

“Offenders must be prosecuted, and when convicted, we need the courts to hand out the toughest possible sentence to send out the message it won’t be tolerated.”

Simon urged members to report all assaults.

“We need to give the Force a clear picture of what our frontline members are experiencing and the level of violence they’re faced with,” he said.

“We’re concerned that not all assaults are being reported because members feel it’s part of the job – but it isn’t. They have the right to go to work without being attacked.

“And when they are assaulted, they must receive the same level of care as any victim of crime,” he added.

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has called for all officers to be given access to Taser if they want it.

Taser

PFEW figures suggest that in 85 per cent of cases where Taser is drawn it is not actually fired. The presence of Taser was enough to diffuse the situation, protect officers from assault and safeguard the public.

Simon said: “Officers can feel isolated and exposed when on patrol, and having Taser gives them the means to defend themselves and protect the public.

“It’s an important piece of an officer’s equipment and is less lethal than firearms.

“These shocking figures give more weight to that call for all officers who want it, to have access to Taser.”

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