Police cuts leave officers more open to dangerous assaults

Police work has become “more challenging and more taxing” as fewer police officers mean there are more opportunities for dangerous incidents to occur, according to Essex Federation Chairman Steve Taylor.

Steve was talking to BBC Radio Essex after two Special constables were seriously injured after being assaulted. 

They were responding to a disturbance involving a group of men when the assault took place, when one of the officers was kicked, headbutted and stamped on.

One suffered a broken nose and a split lip, while the other suffered a broken jaw which will require surgery to repair.

Steve condemned the attack, saying: “An attack on an officer is an attack on society itself.

“With increased crime across the board, and with fewer police officers to deal with that crime it has become increasingly taxing and difficult.”

Essex has the fastest growing Special Constabulary in England and Wales, with the volunteer officers being used to “fill the void” created by austerity cuts to emergency services, according to the Huffington Post.

In the article, Steve is quoted as describing the role of Special constables as a “ray of light” in times of “chronic underfunding”.

Two teenagers and a 20-year-old man have been arrested in connection with the assault of the two Special constables.