Chairman talks of wide need to #ProtectTheProtectors

NEW legislation to protect emergency workers is welcome, but more needs to be done to guard police drivers against prosecution, Essex Police Federation has said.

Steve Taylor, Federation Chairman, was talking after the Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill passed the second reading stage in October. He said: “I’m encouraged by the cross-party support that the ‘Protect the Protectors’ bill has received around protection for emergency service workers.”

It’s encouraging that all of our MPs here in Essex seem to be behind it, and we’ve had MPs speaking about the matter in Parliament, which is good and demonstrates that the efforts we’ve made locally to lobby our MPs is paying off to some degree.

“Let’s not forget that ‘Protect the Protectors’ is a wider collection of issues, not just this one, and we’re very keen that the success we’ve had in the emergency services workers protection bill can be replicated in protection for police drivers.”

The Federation has been campaigning nationally for some years to give police officers better protection in law when they are involved in pursuits, but legislative change is still to take place.

Steve added: “It has been a slow process – seven years of increasing activity and periods of less activity. I’d like the momentum from the emergency services bill to bleed over into the work that Tim Rodgers [a member of the Police Federation of England and Wales’] Interim National Board, and others leading on from the centre, around trialling some firmer protection for police drivers in current regulations and statute.”

More Tasers and better equipment – along with a better resourced police service – would further protect Essex Police officers from injury and attack, Steve said.

He added: “The nature of police hasn’t changed. There are fewer of us trying to do more, which will increase the risk. We’re trying to keep our officers as safe as we can, we’re trying to equip them with the very best that we can equip them with, and will continue to make those arguments and put those reasons to the Chief Officer team and the force.”

The Bill, which passed the second reading stage earlier this month, will now receive greater scrutiny at the committee stage, but it is expected to be passed by Easter 2018.

It would introduce a new triable either way offence of assault or battery against an emergency worker, with a maximum penalty of a 12 month prison sentence; introduce a statutory aggravating factor for the courts to consider when sentencing certain assaults; and enable samples to be taken from people who spit at officers.