Prosecutors ‘fail to deter yobs who attack the police’

PROSECUTORS were yesterday accused of failing to take a tough stance against thugs who assault police officers.

Rank-and-file officers and superintendents warned that charges of police assault are often dropped during plea bargaining.

Thugs will be let off with attacking police if they admit other charges, avoiding costly, time-consuming trials.

Officers are furious the ‘soft touch’ approach appears to give the green light to yobs to assault them.

The disclosure comes after the Mail reported yesterday that two officers were attacked by a yob in a Glasgow street as bystanders filmed the incident on smartphones.

Opposition politicians and police representatives condemned the ‘soft’ sentence handed to Stuart McCourt, 24, who was spared jail in favour of community service this week.

Brian Docherty, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, representing rank-and-file officers, said: ‘Often charges of assaults on officers are the first to be dropped. It may be there are other charges apparently of greater priority, for example, housebreaking. If the accused agrees to admit that, they’ll drop the police assault charges.

‘That is something which happens regularly and infuriates police. What kind of signal does it send out about how seriously the authorities take violence against officers?’

Gordon Crossan, president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, said: ‘Assault upon anyone is unacceptable; however, I ask this: what is the public perception, including perpetrators, of charges being dropped for assaulting the people charged with upholding the law?

‘Wearing a police uniform should not bring with it an acceptance of assault as part of the job. Police officers take on the job knowing they will be subjected to assault and other dangerous situations – but they equally and rightly expect the support of the justice system.

‘The Crown and courts have a difficult job to balance time and finance. However, our officers work under increasingly stressful situations and should be protected by the courts. Deterrents are needed to stop those hellbent on abusing our officers.’

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Douglas Ross said: ‘Police officers always put their own safety on the line to keep our streets safe. In exchange, the least we could do when they are attacked is ensure those responsible are brought to justice.

‘By dropping charges for the convenience of the courts, we risk belittling the suffering many officers go through in the line of duty. It could also embolden those who think assaulting officers is acceptable.’

A Crown Office spokesman said: ‘The Crown takes assaults against police officers, and against any of our emergency services, extremely seriously.

‘The vast majority of the charges reported to us have resulted in prosecutorial action. As with all criminal proceedings, each case is considered on its facts and circumstances. The decision to accept a plea of not guilty (whether or not in conjunction with accepting a plea of guilty to other charges) will be taken in light of the evidence available and the public interest.’

Last year, Dundee FC footballer Paul McGowan was let off with a four-month electronic tagging order after admitting kicking a policeman. In 2013, he had been sentenced to 130 hours of community service for attacking two police officers.

In 2014, boxer Scott Allan, 24, escaped a jail term for throwing punches at a plain-clothes police officer at a birthday party. He was given 300 hours of community service.

‘What signal does it send out?’