Assaults on emergency workers increase

4 June 2021

Newly released crime figures revealing a 26 per cent increase in assaults on emergency workers demonstrate the need for the courts to impose tougher sentences on those who carry out these attacks, says Suffolk Police Federation chair Darren Harris.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the statistics, which cover England and Wales, yesterday. The increase is thought to be driven by an upturn in common assaults on the police, including suspects spitting on officers while claiming to be infected with Covid-19.

“It says a great deal about the problem we are facing when these figures show crime has generally decreased during the pandemic and yet assaults on emergency workers have significantly increased,” says Darren.

“At the same, we have also been seeing police officers and their blue light colleagues going about their duties, serving and protecting their communities while all the time not just putting their health at risk due to Covid-19 but also fearing that they might contract the virus and pass it on to their own families, some of whom could be vulnerable.

“The Federation has successfully campaigned for an increase in sentences for those who attack emergency workers but we must now see the courts imposing those longer jail terms.”

National Police Federation chair John Apter has also responded to the release of the figures.

He explained: “This increased level of violence is not just a one-off. It is becoming the new norm which is completely unacceptable. Violence in our society is not just a policing issue, all parts of Government and society itself must work together to combat this alarming increase.

“Part of this is ensuring those responsible for attacking police officers face a suitable deterrent in court. The sentencing guidelines have been changed, so we need judges and magistrates to use these powers to set an example to those who are assaulting our colleagues, those responsible must spend time in prison. This unjustified violence is a stain on society and needs to be dealt with robustly.”

The latest crime figures cover the four-week period ending 11 April 2021 and are compared with the equivalent period in 2019, rather than 2020. This is to allow comparisons with a more normal time-period, since the national lockdown in place at the same time last year (2020) was associated with notable reductions in demands on the police.

NPCC chair Martin Hewitt commented: “The fall across most of these figures, compared to 2019, shows that we’re still seeing the impact of lockdown, despite the further easing of restrictions in May. That said, we are anticipating crime levels to return to pre-pandemic levels in the coming months, as we did across the summer in 2020.”

He added: “The number of assaults against emergency workers continues to show a troubling rise. This is unacceptable. We will use the full force of the law to prosecute anyone who uses violence against those who are on the frontline. Officers and staff are out in communities, working in challenging circumstances, and I am grateful for their continued hard work.”