Officer assaults: Force campaign

7 October 2020

Officers who have been the victim of more than one assault while on duty are being asked to consider being part of a Force campaign.

The Force wants to run a campaign about the effect assaults have on officers, especially those who are repeat victims.

“This will look at the impact on them personally as an individual but also the impact on their work and the way they approach their duties,” says Jon Nott, chair of West Midlands Police Federation.

“We know some officers can lose confidence when out and about on front-line duties when they have been assaulted, and that is understandable. Where an officer has repeatedly been attacked that can have a really serious, and long-term, effect on them so I am pleased to see the Force doing some work in this area.”

The Federation has previously fed through to the Force Gold Group that some officers have been disappointed at the level of contact they received once an assault on them had been recorded and, as a result, there has been an improvement with officers being treated in a way more in line with other victims of crime.

At the latest Force assaults meeting, it was also reported that data for assaults on police for the previous month revealed a large percentage of positive outcomes from those investigations.

The Federation continues to push for the courts to use their sentencing powers accordingly as this is a frustration it shares with the Gold Group as a whole.

It has also issued two reminders to officers:

• If you are assaulted, complete a victim personal statement which can be attached to the court file
• Subscribing members of the Group Insurance Scheme (GIS) who are serving officers and are assaulted and awarded compensation by the courts can claim this through the scheme if it has not been paid within six months. Contact the Federation office for more information.

If anyone is interested in being a part of the Force campaign on repeat assaults then please email John Williams.