59 police assaults in six months
POLICE recorded at least 59 assaults against officers in Runcorn and Widnes in the first six months this year.
Data provided by Cheshire Constabulary to the Weekly News under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) revealed 32 offences in Runcorn and 27 in Widnes.
The request was filed on June 16 and sought the number of assaults to date during 2020, indicating a rate of about 2.5 assaults on officers per week.
Severity of the attacks and incidents varied between assault without injury to wounding with intent to prevent or resist arrest.
Cheshire police did not provide details of whether any offences were aggravated along racial, religious or sexual orientation grounds.
The most serious incident occurred in Widnes and was an instance of Section 18 wounding with intent, to prevent or resist arrest.
Widnes also experienced 11 offences of Section 47 assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) against officers, and 15 assaults without injury.
Although Runcorn had more offences, they tended to be of a less serious type, with 10 instances of ABH, 17 assaults without injury, and five assaults on a non-constable emergency worker.
Senior police figures have condemned the assaults as not just acts of harm to officers and their families but also against wider society in depriving it of a public service operating at full capacity.
Superintendent Laura Marler, who oversees policing in Runcorn and Widnes, said: “The nature of policing inevitably requires officers to deal with violent and challenging situations, but, regardless of the situation, being assaulted by a member of the public we serve should never be seen as an acceptable ‘part of the job’.
“To assault an officer or any other emergency service worker is to attack society itself.
“Officers being taken off the streets because of assaults by members of the public impacts on the level of service we can provide to the communities we serve and protect.
“Such absences not only have a detrimental effect on the resourcing of incidents, they increase pressures on other officers too, due to the additional responsibilities they have to take on to ensure that we meet the needs of the public.
“Assaults also often cause distress to family members, particularly when the officer suffers psychological or visible physical injuries.”
Assaulting a police officer or any other emergency service worker is a criminal offence which can result in a custodial sentence.
David Keane, police and crime commissioner for Cheshire, said: “I support tough sentences for the crime of attacking an officer. Such attacks are despicable, now more than ever.
“This year officers have been risking their own safety and that of their families as they work on the front line during the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is an unprecedented time when, thankfully, most members of our communities have been pulling together and supporting our front-line workers.
“Sadly, there still remains a small minority of people who disrespect the police and even think that it is acceptable to assault officers.
“Such assaults are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated by Cheshire Constabulary or the courts.”