Staggering number of assaults on Sussex Police officers

19 November 2024

Four officers are being assaulted every day in Sussex - leading to a total of 257 injuries on members every year, new figures have shown.

These worrying statistics show a distressing increase in officer assaults, which is having a detrimental effect on officers’ morale, Sussex Police Federation Chair Raffaele Cioffi told the BBC this morning.

1,527 officers in Sussex were assaulted last year - which is more than 29 every single week.

‘People that are choosing not to comply with the law are now opting to scratch, kick, punch, strangle and drive at our members - and it's simply unacceptable,’ Raffaele told the BBC.

‘It is clearly extremely distressing to hear this increase in assaults on our members as they are out and about conducting their duty. Assaults that end an injury is one thing but there are probably five times as many where there isn't an injury - and all of that comes at an emotional cost,’ he said.

90 percent of officers at Sussex police have reported having low morale when they come to work, a problem that is exacerbated by the violence they are experiencing, according to Raffaele.

He referred to Sussex Bravery Award winner Sergeant Alec Barrett who intervened in an altercation in Brighton last year, receiving multiple blows as he tackled the offenders and ending up with life-changing injuries.

‘For all his troubles, he ended up having a fractured eye socket which has changed his facial appearance forever, and that has had an impact on his family and himself to the point where his daughter cried when she saw him simply because of the change of his face.’

And colleagues are seeing too many suspended sentences and not enough aggravating factors being taken into account in sentencing,

Raffaele added: ‘Officers are being let down by the judicial system. What we are seeing is very disappointing. Unfortunately, without a deterrent, I only fear that these figures will continue to increase.’