Federation calls for stronger punishments for those assaulting officers to remain after pandemic is over

HARSHER sentences imposed on people who have assaulted officers during the COVID-19 pandemic must remain, Essex Police Federation has urged, as new stats show a shocking rise in attacks on emergency service workers.

Sickening recent assaults in the county include officers being dragged down the road by a vehicle, while colleagues have suffered broken arms and have been hit by metal bars as they attempted to make arrests.

Assaults on emergency service workers had risen by 24 per cent in the four weeks to June 7th, primarily driven by a surge in COVID-19 spitting and coughing attacks and the recent protests across England and Wales, new NPCC figures show.

It’s prompted Home Secretary Priti Patel to pledge a crackdown on people who assault police officers and other emergency service workers. 

She wants to see people who carry out assaults receive up to two years in prison for the crime, to ‘make these thugs think twice’.

It’s a sentiment echoed by Essex Police Federation Chair Laura Heggie.

“We had an officer the other day whose arm was broken while trying to arrest somebody. We have officers that have been dragged down the street by a vehicle. We’re having officers hit with metal bars, officers bitten,” she said.

“Officers are spat at and coughed at, and that is being followed up by their attacker saying they have coronavirus. It’s a significant threat.”

Mandatory jail time could be the deterrent needed to put a halt to the violence against officers, Laura added.

Harsher sentences have been brought in to deal with the COVID-19 assaults and the Protect the Protectors Bill, which in 2018 doubled penalties for those attacking officers to a year, is in place.

But more needs to be done, says Laura.

“We’ve seen some harsher sentences coming in relation to assaults on police. They need to be maintained. It needs to be more than just the flavour of the month,” she said.

“There needs to be a strong message sent out which then hopefully make people realise if they do assault officers, then they’re going to end up going to prison.

“There are no excuses for assaulting a police officer. They are there to do a job, to protect the public.”

Now Laura wants to see the Home Secretary’s positive messaging about sentencing backed up by Government action.

“It’s not a bad start, but it’s one of those where it’s got to be followed through. It’s got to be backed up by it actually happening,” she said.

“There is no point saying, ‘send them to prison for two years, you could say, ‘send them to prison for five years’, if it’s not going to happen or they’re not going to get custodial sentences then the words mean nothing, and that doesn’t protect anybody.

“There’s also the issue of capacity in prisons, which I know is part of the reason that magistrates don’t send a lot of people to prison. There’s a much bigger picture to it, and it needs to be provided with the funding that’s required allowing magistrates and judges to pass down stricter sentences which then may act as a deterrent.”