The Police Federation has insisted offenders who assault their members must receive the maximum sentences available under new guidelines.
Staffordshire Police Federation secretary Glyn Pattinson called on judges and magistrates to ensure revised sentencing guidelines are used to their full effect on anyone who attacks an emergency services worker when they come into force in July.
Glyn spoke out after new advice was published by the Sentencing Council, the independent body set up to promote greater transparency and consistency in sentencing.
He said: “We welcome the new sentencing guidelines but we now need to see judges and magistrates use them to their full extent to ensure those who assault police officers and other emergency service workers receive the maximum tariff sentences possible.
“For far too long, it has almost been the case that police officers have almost had to accept being assaulted as part of their role. But that shouldn’t be the case. We need to see tougher sentences being handed down so that offenders are suitably punished but also to act as a deterrent to others.”
Under the new guidelines, judges and magistrates in England and Wales will for the first time receive specific guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of assault on emergency service workers.
The changes were made after the Police Federation’s Protect the Protectors campaign sparked reform which saw the maximum sentence for assaults on police officers and other emergency service workers doubled from six to 12 months.
Ministers have pledged to increase the maximum sentence from 12 months to two years for assaults on emergency workers through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which is currently at the committee stage in Parliament.
The new advice includes factors classed as “high culpability”, such as the “intention to cause fear of serious harm, including disease transmission” in common assault cases, as well as intentional coughing or spitting in both common assault and ABH offences.
Police Federation national chair John Apter said: “During the last few years, we have been highlighting to the Sentencing Council the dangers officers face and our serious concern about some perverse sentences, which has seen people walking from the court after some vicious attacks on our colleagues.
“It’s good to see that the Sentencing Council has taken on board our views about assaults on police, including the vile acts of spitting and weaponising Covid, and these revised guidelines are a step in the right direction.
“What we need to see now is judges making full use of the flexibility the guidelines provide to ensure that the sentence handed down reflects the seriousness and gravity of the crime.
“We will be watching closely to ensure we see a reduction in perverse sentences which result in thugs who attack emergency workers walking free from court with little more than a slap on the wrist.”
