Policing ‘more dangerous’ as officer assaults soar

Pc Andrew Harper’s death comes as figures showed the number of assaults on police officers soared over the last year.

According to Office of National Statistics figures there was a 27 per cent rise in assaults on police constables in which they were injured in the last year.

There were 10,399 incidents recorded between April 2018 and March this year – 2,242 more than the 8,157 for the same period the previous year.

Asked at Friday afternoon’s press conference about whether policing is becoming more dangerous, Thames Valley Police Chief Constable John Campbell said: “I think policing has always been dangerous,” adding that there is an increase in violence presented towards officers.

He said: “Police officers, day in day out, face the kind of challenges and physical violence that often result in assault. In these circumstances, in these extreme circumstances, it’s resulted in the loss of Andrew’s life, so from that point of view, is policing getting more violent? I think generally there’s a challenge for society in terms of the easy recourse to violence. But, certainly from a policing point of view, we know there are certain associated risks.”

Since last year people who attack emergency services face tougher sentences, with the maximum jail term increased from six to 12 months.

The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act covers assaults on 999 staff and other blue light volunteers.