Page 22 - WMPF Federation Aug-Sept 2021-flip_Neat

Campaign continues

‘Courts must use full

sentencing powers

on officer assaults’

ssaults on police officers must be For the first time, judges and who assault police officers and other
punished with the maximum magistrates in England and Wales will be emergency service workers receive the
Asentences available under new given specific guidance for sentencing maximum tariff sentences available.”
guidelines, West Midlands Police Federation offenders convicted of assault on emergency The revised guidelines are a direct result
has insisted. service workers. of the Police Federation’s Protect the
Branch chair Jon Nott said judges and Jon said: “Assaults on police officers are Protectors campaign which triggered a
magistrates should ensure the revised totally unacceptable but are sadly change in law to double the maximum
sentencing guidelines, which come into force commonplace. To assault a police officer, sentence for assaults on police officers and
in July, are used to their full effect on anyone prison officer or any other emergency service other emergency service workers from six to
who attacks an emergency service worker. worker is to attack society itself and should 12 months.
He spoke out after the new advice was never be accepted as ‘part of the job’. The Federation supports a maximum
published by the Sentencing Council, the “We welcome the new sentencing tariff of 24 months and not 12 months, at
independent body set up to promote greater guidelines but judges and magistrates must least, because of the likelihood of offenders
transparency and consistency in sentencing. use them to their full extent to ensure those being released before the completion of
“ Assaults on police officers are totally the maximum sentence from 12 months to
their sentences.
The Government has pledged to increase

two years for assaults on emergency workers
unacceptable but are sadly commonplace.
through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and
Courts Bill, which is currently going through
To assault a police officer, prison officer or
The new advice includes factors classed

any other emergency service worker is to Parliament.
as “high culpability”, such as the “intention
attack society itself and should never be to cause fear of serious harm, including
disease transmission” in common assault
accepted as ‘part of the job’ “ cases, as well as intentional coughing or
spitting in both common assault and ABH
offences.

ONS releases latest figures

The chair of West Midlands Police Federation rise in assaults on police officers. In the year three of our colleagues are attacked every
has called for the toughest possible ending March 2021, there were almost single day just for doing their job.
sentences to be handed down to thugs who 37,000 assaults on police officers in England “An attack on a police officer is an attack
attack officers. and Wales, including British Transport Police. on society and it must not be tolerated.
Jon Nott said he was appalled at new Of those, 25,734 were assaults without “We’ve long been campaigning for
figures which show that West Midlands injury on a constable, an increase of 21 per tougher sentences for criminals who attack
Police officers were assaulted more than cent compared with 21,321 in the previous emergency services workers, and anyone
1,000 times in the last year. year. convicted of attacking a police officer should
New Government figures, released by And 11,235 were assaults with injury on feel the full weight of the law.
the Office for National Statistics, show there a constable, up by 1.2 per cent compared “We need the courts to pass down the
were 566 assaults on officers causing injury with 11,106 in the previous year. toughest possible sentences to anyone
in the year ending March 2021 and a further Jon said: “These figures are absolutely convicted of such attacks. We need to send
518 assaults on officers without injury. unacceptable. I find it shocking that in the out the message that this is not acceptable.
Nationally, there has been a 14 per cent West Midlands Force area alone, on average It needs to stop.”

22 federation August/September 2021 www.polfed.org/westmids