Page 11 - WMPF Federation Feb-Mar 2020-flip_Neat

Officer safety

Assaults on police:

courts urged to use full

sentencing powers

he courts must use their full one of our officers and assaulting another in discontinued.
sentencing powers to punish those an incident in the opening minutes of 2020. The new guidance aims to ensure
Twho assault police officers and also “Our officers suffer physical injuries in prosecutors seek the maximum sentence in
deter others, says the chair of West these attacks that take them away from court and play any body-worn video footage
Midlands Police Federation. their duties but there is also a psychological and underlines the requirement to treat
Jon Nott spoke out after new figures impact and many can find it difficult to assaults committed on bail or licence as an
from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) return to serving their communities through aggravating factor.
revealed it had prosecuted more than 50 fear of being assaulted again. National Federation chair John Apter has
assaults a day in the first year since a new “But, all too often, I am hearing officers welcomed the CPS stance, saying: “It is good
law came into effect making it a specific saying it’s just part of the job but it’s not and to see the CPS recognising that the current
offence to attack an emergency services nor should it ever be accepted. We need the system is not working and issuing new
worker. courts to use the legislation and send a clear guidelines for prosecutors.
“I find it shocking that each and every message that an assault on a police officer “Now I urge magistrates to do the right
day 50 of the very people who seek to help or other emergency services worker will not thing and heed any advice passed down to
others in their time of need find themselves be tolerated.” them; and to use their full sentencing
subjected to violence simply for doing their Between November 2018 and November powers so the law provides the deterrent
job,” says Jon. last year, almost 20,000 offences were and punitive effect it was intended to.”
“These new figures show that in 90 per charged under the new Assaults on At the Federation’s centenary celebration
cent of these cases the victims were police Emergency Workers (Offences) Act – three event in London in November, Home
officers. An attack on a police officer is an quarters of which were assault by beating. Secretary Priti Patel said she would double
attack on society itself and therefore anyone The first cases to go through the courts also the maximum sentence under the new act
convicted of these assaults should feel the show a conviction rate of 90 per cent. from 12 months to two years and John has
full weight of the law so that they are In addition to publishing the statistics said he will be discussing officer assaults
punished for their crime but also to serve as for the first year under the act, the CPS has when he meets her in the coming weeks.
a deterrent to others. launched a new set of guidelines reminding The Assaults on Emergency Workers
“On a daily basis here in the West magistrates to use their full sentencing (Offences) Act followed the Federation’s
Midlands, we are hearing of officers who are powers and also stating that victims’ views ‘Protect the Protectors’ campaign which
being assaulted at work. Just two days into should be taken into account when pleas to highlighted the violence emergency service
this year, we saw a woman jailed after biting other offences are accepted or cases workers face while doing their job.

www.polfed.org/westmids federation February/March 2020 11