Patel: ‘Tougher sentences for police attacks’
THE Home Secretary has demanded a crackdown on criminals assaulting police officers, as figures showed that the average jail term is just two months.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph following the “brutal and mindless” killing of Pc Andrew Harper, Priti Patel said courts needed to ensure the law acted as a sufficient deterrent against attacks on officers. She also announced that the Government was “accelerating plans” for a new police covenant to enshrine protections for officers, and said the Home Office was examining ways to better support the families of those injured or killed by criminals.
Last night, detectives investigating the death of Pc Harper, 28, who married his wife Lissie just four weeks ago, said he died of “multiple injuries”, having been being dragged along a road in Berkshire after responding to a burglary report. Yesterday they were given more time to question 10 suspects.
Ms Patel’s intervention came as figures showed the average sentence for those jailed for assaulting a police officer was 2.2 months, or less than nine weeks. The figure has fallen
every year since 2007, when the average sentence was 2.8 months – about 11 weeks. John Apter, Police Federation chairman, called for an urgent review of sentencing guidance, saying: “We are seeing time and time again police officers becoming victims of weak sentences that are not a deterrent.”
Senior officers said the “weak” sentences were partly due to a 2011 change to guidelines under which spitting at police was removed as a factor increasing an offence’s seriousness. The guidelines have since been updated to include case law suggesting spitting should be an aggravating factor but the Police Federation claims it is not being applied by prosecutors and the courts.
Writing three days after the death of Pc Harper, Ms Patel says she and Boris Johnson “want to ensure that all officers have the powers and the tools they need to keep themselves and the public safe”. She adds: “The courts need to crackdown on police assaults and they must have the powers to approve strong sentences for these crimes to do more to stop the spate of assaults on our police officers and ensure that the law acts as the deterrent it should be.”
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures show that in some parts of the country the average sentence for those jailed for assaults on officers, which carries a maximum sentence of six months, is barely one month. The highest average was 2.8 months, in Warwickshire.
Separate figures show that the number of individuals convicted for police assaults dropped from 9,921 in 2007 across England and Wales, to 7,486 in 2014. It rose slightly to 8,265 last year.
In November 2018, the Government introduced its Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act which created a new offence of assaulting or sexually assaulting an emergency worker, including police officers, and is punishable by up to 12 months in prison.
Ms Patel pointed out that the law “increases the length of sentences available when an officer is attacked”.
But Mr Apter said magistrates were prevented from fully exploiting the law because they could only impose sentences of up to six months.
A 17-year-old has been charged with the murder of a 52-year-old man who was stabbed with a screwdriver in Newcastle on Wednesday.
The teenager, who cannot be identified, was arrested after Peter Duncan was attacked close to a Greggs outlet in Eldon Square mall. Police said he was stabbed in the chest at 6.20pm. He died in hospital later that day. Northumbria Police arrested a 14-year-old, two 15-year-olds and four 17-year-olds in connection with the incident. Yesterday, the force said one of the 17-yearolds was charged with murder, possession of an offensive weapon and theft. He will appear before North Tyneside magistrates’ court tomorrow.
The family of Mr Duncan paid tribute following his death, saying he would be in their “hearts and thoughts every day”.