Thugs ‘undeterred’ by laws safeguarding 999 workers
NEW POWERS TO PUNISH OFFENDERS HAVEN’T BROUGHT DOWN NUMBER OF ASSAULTS, SAYS POLICE FEDERATION
A LAW giving courts greater powers to punish thugs who attack emergency services workers is not having the hoped-for deterrent effect, according to police officers.
The Assaults on Emergency Workers Act came into force in 2018 and doubled the maximum sentences for such assaults.
But Leicestershire Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said the frequency and viciousness of attacks had not changed.
It said 21 Leicestershire Police officers were assaulted last month alone - including instances in which victims were punched, spat at and bitten. In some cases, the offenders claimed to be carrying coronavirus.
The true scale of the violence could be even higher as not all officers report the assaults they suffer, federation vice-chairman Adam Commons said.
He said there was evidence courts had used their sentencing powers to their full extent during the coronavirus crisis out of revulsion against those who bit or spat at officers and claimed to be infected.
He said: “People still think it’s okay to do this and carry out these assaults.
“Broadly speaking, a lot of assaults happen on standard jobs, sometimes from the most innocuous situations.
“During Covid-19 we have seen increased sentences for people spitting or coughing. That was the Covid-19 factor, rather than the nature of the assault itself, I think.
“We’ve also got a supportive Home Secretary who is vocal against these assaults and seems to want to increase sentencing. But it’s all right giving the judicial system the powers to do that – they have to be used.
“Magistrates can now put someone who assaults an officer in prison for a year, but they haven’t been doing it. I don’t think there has been that deterrent.
“We’ve started using these sentences during the pandemic and we need to carry on using them. Society has changed – people want police to be there, but if we can’t help them, some of them are lashing out.
“Rather than using their phones to record these assaults, why can’t people dial 999 to help officers who are clearly struggling?
“If officers let us know about the assault, we can support them. It might be an area of their work they can’t talk to their line manager about. We can refer people to ‘fit for duty’ for assessment, physio and get them into the welfare support scheme if they need it.
“I’ll try and make contact with officers who have been assaulted just to ask if they are okay and if they have everything they need.
“The Leicestershire force is very good and supportive – between us we try and get hold of everyone to make sure they have what they need.
“It’s massively important to make sure it’s recorded properly, if it’s a push, a punch, whatever.”
Chief Constable Simon Cole writes victim impact statements to courts each time a suspect appears in court for attacking a member of his staff, whether an officer or a civilian. He started the practice in 2018 when the new legislation was introduced.
Currently, his letters address the impact the virus is having on the force and on the wider community and the health implications for officers who are spat at or coughed on.