Officer assault: chair welcomes jail sentence

2 July 2026

The jailing of a man who threw boiling water over a police officer leaving her with life-changing injuries has been welcomed by the chair of West Midlands Police Federation.

Jess Davies says the 14 and a half-year jail sentence handed down to John Davies not only punishes him for the attack in Winson Green but should also act as a deterrent to others.

“Sadly, we are seeing the number of violent attacks being levelled at our officers escalating. Nationwide 86 officers are being assaulted each day,” says Jess, “No one should be assaulted for doing their job and no police officer should go to work expecting to be attacked in this way, but it is becoming so common that officers are almost accepting it as part of their role. This cannot be allowed to continue; police officers are not society’s punchbags.

“By the very nature of policing, we appreciate that officers are dealing with people in highly stressful and volatile situations, but we are not talking about a minor tussle in a heated moment, we are talking about deliberate, sustained and horrendous attacks on police officers who are trying to serve and protect the public.”

Jess believes the fact that police officer numbers have not kept pace with the demands placed on policing has also had an impact on the safety of frontline officers.

“Officer numbers fell during the years of austerity when police budgets were cut,” she explained, “While numbers have increased in recent years due to the Police Uplift Programme, for example, we are still seeing a revolving door whereby almost as fast as we bring in new recruits we are losing officers who are simply leaving or retiring, taking years of experience with them.

“Some are leaving because police pay has not kept pace with increases to the cost of living and yet they are facing more and more dangers as they go about their duties.

“This means that the thin blue line is getting thinner and officers who find themselves needing back-up can often find there are just no colleagues available to come to their assistance.

“We need to see sustained investment in policing and a police pay review system that is truly fit for purpose if we are to not just recruit more officers but also retain them once they join the service.”

The Police Federation’s Copped Enough campaign highlights:

• Police officers are 21 per cent worse off in real terms than they were in 2010
• A third of officers struggle to afford food, rent, or heating
• There are 31,368 assaults on the police nationwide in a year
• Mental health crises are soaring, with policing now the profession with the highest mental health-related sickness rates.

It is calling for:

• Fair pay: urgent action on pay to recognise the unique demands of policing
• Support for frontline risks: including an army-style P-Factor allowance recognising the dangers officers face
• Retention not just recruitment: a real plan to keep experienced officers on the beat
• Better protection and mental health support: so officers are not forced to suffer in silence.