More Must Be Done To Prevent Assaults On Police

THE Criminal Justice System must do more to prevent assaults on police officers and to support those who have come under attack, according to Essex Police Federation Chairman Steve Taylor.

He was speaking after police chiefs met for an emergency summit into police assaults.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council launched a review into officer safety, training, equipment and operational planning following a surge in attacks. Steve welcomed the project, but asked whether it was really necessary.

He said: “Did they really need a summit to work out that we need to take a look at our equipment, that we need to take a look at how officers are supported post-assault? All they had to do is look at their own forces, listen to their own federations and they’d be given that information.

“But they’ve taken the time, they’ve sat down and had a summit and now they know what we know to be true; that there is better equipment out there that officers could be given, there is more capacity for body-worn video, for Taser, and there is more support that we could receive from partners in the criminal justice system when officers face assault.

“We’ve been saying this for a while. It’s encouraging to know that finally they’re on a similar page to us, and maybe as a unified voice, going forward, we can start to effect some change in these areas.”

Steve said the most important improvement could be made in criminal justice, with partners doing more to support officers that come under attack.

He added: “An assault on a police officer is an assault on society. It’s that simple. And in no way, shape or form is anyone getting assaulted acceptable. We need to do a better job protecting the protectors and we need to do a better job deterring those that think it’s acceptable to assault officers. We need to do a better job sending the right signal when they come before the bench, when they come into the criminal justice system.

“Because it’s not just the individual officer that’s affected by that assault. It’s their colleagues, it’s their family, it’s the wider community. There is a lot of people in that equation and they’re all better served if we can convince our partners and ourselves to do a better job looking after officers and supporting staff who are assaulted.”