#ProtectTheProtectors: Officers must continue to record assaults to drive them down

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POLICE officers must continue to record assaults if attacks on officers are to be driven down, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

New crime figures showed a 26 per cent rise in assaults against emergency workers this month.

Steve Kent, South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair, said: “Speaking from personal experience, I know I didn’t record every assault on myself. Only the ones that ended up with an injury or ended up having a consequence to it.

“But the message is that officers need, when they feel they’ve been assaulted by somebody, to record that. Because without that data, we’re not going to see the true picture. I’d like to remind officers that when they feel they’ve been assaulted, and there’s any signs of psychological or physical effect on them, they must get it recorded. If they don’t then it might as well not have happened and that can’t be allowed to happen, as far as I’m concerned.”

South Yorkshire Police Federation will continue to lobby Government and the courts to ensure the issue is taken seriously.

John Apter, Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales added: “We have seen a consistent increase in violence against emergency workers during the pandemic with the vast majority of these assaults being against police officers. At the same time other crime types have fallen.

“This increased level of violence is not just a one off. It is becoming the new norm which is completely unacceptable. Violence in our society is not just a policing issue, all parts of Government and society itself must work together to combat this alarming increase.

“Part of this is ensuring those responsible for attacking police officers face a suitable deterrent in Court. The sentencing guidelines have been changed, so we need judges and magistrates to use these powers to set an example to those who are assaulting our colleagues, those responsible must spend time in prison. This unjustified violence is a stain on society and needs to be dealt with robustly.”