Page 8 - Federation magazine: December 2016 / January 2017

Federation campaign
on assaults gathers
momentum
APolice Federation campaign for
tougher sentencing of those aware of at least five “I am tired of seeing my husband come
convicted of assaulting police officers more assaults on home injured and having to lie to my
has won backing in Parliament. officers in my children about how he sustained his injuries.
MPs resolved, after a three-hour constituency in the I worry every time he is late home and I am
Commons debate on police officer safety in days that followed. grateful every time he returns home safely.”
November, that assaults on the police are “What shocked The Federation has previously
‘unacceptable’ and welcomed the work of me, and what successfully campaigned for the law to be
the Independent Sentencing Council in thoroughly changed so that those convicted of
producing guidelines that recognise the depresses police murdering police officers will now be
seriousness of attacks on the emergency officers, is that sentenced to a whole life term.
services. sentences handed Get involved on Twitter using
There was also acceptance of the down to offenders #PoliceOfficerSafety.
Federation’s call for the numbers of assaults for assaulting the
to be accurately recorded in order to police often fail to
appreciate the scale of the problem. reflect the
Research by the Police Federation of seriousness of the
England and Wales suggests that an officer crime or, more
is assaulted every 22 minutes in England and crucially, serve as a
Wales – with 23,394 incidents in England deterrent.
and Wales last year. “We make the
But officer assaults are vastly under- laws in here, but
reported and it widely believed that it is a we ask the police
bigger problem than current figures to uphold and
demonstrate. enforce them out
Before the Commons debate on 2 there. To assault a
November Federation vice chairman Calum police officer is to
Macleod, national representative Mick show a complete
Hume, West Yorkshire Federation chairman disregard for law
Nick Smart and Hampshire chairman John and order, for our
Apter met with a large number of Labour shared values and
and Conservative MPs. for democracy
Calum said: “Today was an important itself, and that
step in raising awareness among MPs and must be
the public of the risks that police officers reflected in
face on a daily basis. It was also about sentencing,
putting in place measures to ensure that particularly for
those who assault police officers are held to repeat
account by the courts and that sentences offenders.”
reflect those crimes - progress is, and will MP Jessica
continue to be made.” Morden, Labour MP for Newport East, told
The Federation delegation was the Commons about a woman who is
welcomed by Holly Lynch, Labour MP for married to a police officer who contacted her
Halifax, who saw first-hand the dangers to describe how the injuries her husband
officers face when she accompanied PC Craig sustains in the course of his work affect the
Gallant on a shift in West Yorkshire on 5 family.
August and dialled 999 when the single To stop their children worrying, the
crewed office was confronted by a crowd couple lie about how he sustains his injuries.
making Holly fear for his safety. She quoted the woman saying: “According to
Speaking at the debate, she said: “Police my children he is the clumsiest dad ever, as
officers who are assaulted deserve the full we have had to tell them ‘Dad fell over a bin
backing of the justice system. Since my shift chasing someone’, ‘Dad walked into a
with West Yorkshire Police, I have been made cupboard door in the station’, ‘Dad caught
himself on the police car door’.

08 federation December 2016/January 2017 www.westmidspolfed.com