28 violent attacks on police every day of year

VIOLENT assaults on police officers have risen by more than a quarter in a year, with Thames Valley – where Pc Andrew Harper was murdered – suffering one of the biggest increases.

Assaults where constables suffered an injury rose from 8,157 in 2017 to 10,399, up 27 per cent in a year and equivalent to 28 attacks a day on the police. Assaults without injury rose to 20,578 from 18,138, up by 13 per cent compared to the previous year.

In Thames Valley Police, assaults on officers have jumped by 33 per cent in the past year, from 794 to 1,057, equivalent to about 20 a week.

The rise has led to the force being ranked the sixth worst of the 40 forces across the country for violence against officers, behind forces such as the Met and West Yorkshire. Of those assaults, 198 resulted in an officer being injured, up from 166 in the previous year.

The Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents frontline officers, says it reflects a fundamental change in attitudes towards violence against police officers as criminals have become emboldened by the failure of courts to impose tough sentences.

“I have 26 years’ service and without a shadow of a doubt, attitudes towards violence against police officers in particular have changed considerably,” said John Apter, federation chairman. “To some it is almost a sport. For wider society, life seems to come cheap.

“They think nothing about sticking a knife in you for a pair of trainers.

“The level of violence used to escape justice is off the scale. It needs more than warm words, it needs action.”

Mr Apter said the courts needed to impose tougher sentences on criminals who assault police officers, claiming that new laws designed to protect emergency service workers were still failing to act as a deterrent.

He said magistrates’ courts were prevented from fully exploiting new laws, introduced in November, that make any assault on an emergency service worker punishable with 12 months in jail. Magistrates, however, can only impose jail terms of up to six months.

He said: “If they want to impose greater sentences, they have to refer to the crown court and they are not doing that. We are seeing time and time again police officers who are victims of weak sentences that are not a deterrent.

“The Prime Minister and Home Secretary are being very supportive on the face of it, but they can also do something by enacting this piece of legislation to give magistrates the powers to crack down on police assaults.”

He said “talk is cheap” and demanded urgent action, adding: “Enough is enough.”

He said crown courts should do more to take account of attacks causing grievous and actual bodily harm on police as “aggravated” factors that would ensure longer sentences.

“Although there seems to be an aggravated factor, it doesn’t seem to mean anything. There has to be more of a consequence,” he said.