Harrowing photos show police officers' battered faces

25 October 2017

Harrowing photos show police officers' battered faces as attacks reach record levels

#ProtectTheProtectors

The real face of British policing can be revealed today amid escalating attacks on forces across the country.

Pictures of the battered and bruised brave men and women who patrol the streets show the dangers they face every time they clock on a shift.

Critics have ploughed into recent PR stunts featuring officers painting their nails, walking in heels or going on dodgems.

But the service, and ex-officers, say the backlash is a smokescreen to take the focus away from spiralling crime rates and a shrinking, under-pressure workforce caused by Government cuts.

PC Heather Caruana was left unable to see out of one eye after being headbutted in the face when responding to a domestic call-out.

The Surrey constable, 30, said: “We are all single-crewed all the time, which is quite dangerous. We are supposed to double up on night shifts but if there’s not the staff we just go out on our own.

“In Surrey, because we’re quite rural, back up can be 20 minutes away.

“You feel sick when you hear someone has been assaulted. There is nothing worse than hearing someone screaming down the radio for help and you’re trying to get there as quickly as possible. It is just horrible.

“In this job you expect it at some point. You can’t go through this job and not be assaulted at some time, which is sad. It shouldn’t be that way.”

See the full story in the Mirror http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/thin-black-blue-line-harrowing-11402462