Top paramedic slams ‘absurd’ sentences for attacks on staff
‘Sit-down chats’ with offenders not good enough, says boss
APARAMEDIC has accused the courts of imposing ‘ridiculous’ restorative justice sentences on thugs attacking emergency services staff.
West Midlands Ambulance Service operational manager Mike Duggan hit out after one woman was urged to have a ‘sit-down chat’ with two victims she had spat at and assaulted.
Huge numbers of attacks on ambulance and police staff have resulted in non-custodial sentences.
Ambulance personnel have been bitten, stabbed and spat at, with six physical assaults on West Midlands staff reported every week.
There have been 1,597 violent attacks on ambulance workers in the region since 2012, an investigation by union GMB revealed.
The union disclosed the figures ahead of a crunch vote by MPs on tougher sentences for attacks on emergency workers.
Police officer Danielle Clark recently tweeted her anger over the sentence of a woman charged with spitting at her and assaulting a paramedic.
Instead of being jailed, the offender was told to have a sit-down meeting with her victims, as part of restorative justice.
PC Clark tweeted: “Spat at by a woman arrested for assaulting a paramedic and damaging an ambulance.
“We think a sit down meeting with her, you and the paramedic is appropriate using restorative justice what do you think?’ No, no, I really, really don’t agree that it is.”
Mr Duggan said: “Yet again we see how little regard the judicial system has for the safety and well being of emergency services crews.
“How insulting for this police officer and the paramedic to be told this is the most appropriate way to deal with this.
“Attacks on emergency services worker continue to rise. Yet rather than handing out tougher sentences, the Crown Prosecution Service think the best way to deter people from assaulting us is by ridiculous sitdown chats and telling offenders to write letters saying sorry.”
Restorative justice focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders reconciliation with victims.
Mr Duggan added: “Last year myself and two members of staff were attacked by a drunk woman while we were just trying to do our job.
“She was later charged and what was her punishment? To go on a alcohol awareness course. The restorative justice doled out by the courts is simply absurd.
“When ambulance staff attacks, we cannot fault the they deal with it very well.
“But after the courts get involved, it seems like they don’t view it as a crime at all.”
In December, a thug spat at Mr Duggan, attacked his ambulance and threatened to “knock him out”.
But he was only handed a £60 fine and a community order for just 15 days.
Mr Duggan wrote on Twitter at the time: “Personally I think this just yet again shows a lack of action against these idiots who think it is acceptable to attack the emergency services.
“Going to bed ready to go back to work tomorrow disheartened and generally fed up.”
through report police,
The CPS think the best way to deter people from assaulting us is by ridiculous sit-down chats
West Midlands operational
manager Mike Duggan