South Yorkshire Police Federation fully backs Harper’s Law Campaign

EMERGENCY service workers are uniting as one in their support of a new law aimed at introducing tougher sentences for those who might take their lives them, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

The Harpers Law campaign was launched by Lissie Harper after her Thames Valley Police Officer husband Andrew was killed on duty last year.

If successful, it could see criminals convicted of killing emergency services workers be jailed for life.

PC Harper’s killers Henry Long, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole were convicted of manslaughter but cleared of murder.

Long was jailed for 16 years and Bowers and Cole for 13 years.

The Attorney General is currently reviewing their sentences to see if they were too lenient.

“If there could be any positive from such a horrendous incident it’s that the public and the emergency services across the country are uniting behind Lissie and Harper’s Law,” South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said.

“You can’t allow officers and other emergency staff workers to lose their lives in the line of duty and for proper justice not to be dealt.

“That is something that needs to be looked at. It’s something that I’ve seen universal backing for.

“People need to know the deterrent out there if they attack emergency service workers and what it’s going to result in down the line.”

Steve said he was proud of the work of his colleagues at Thames Valley Police Federation had done and how they were helping Lissie with the campaign.

“I’m proud to be part of an organisation that is helping to drive this,” he said.

“Our colleagues in Thames Valley are doing a sterling job with it, and obviously it’s been shared nationally. Whenever I’ve put media out about it recently, people do interact with it; they share it. So the message is getting out there.

“That’s our job, and we’re proud to do it because we need to raise awareness. I think the sentences for those three individuals have sickened the British public, so we need to push our points and to back Lissie in this campaign.”