Only 1 in 7 are jailed for assaulting a police officer

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JUST one in seven criminals convicted of assaulting a police officer receives a prison sentence, Parliament has heard.

Of 7,829 people convicted of assaults on police officers, just 1,002 were sent to prison, according to Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley.

“I think that is completely and utterly unacceptable”, the Conservative MP told the House of Commons.

Mr Davies, who has been out on patrol with West Yorkshire Police an estimated 70 times, said he had been campaigning for tougher sentencing for years.

He said it was “unacceptable” that a case in which someone with 36 previous convictions for assaulting police officers avoided prison on their 37th conviction for the same offence.

“It is very important that the sentencing for such offences matches the seriousness of the offence,” he added. “We need tougher sentences. As an example, someone committing an assault on a police officer that involved a punch to the stomach that winded the police officer, could only be punished by a fine.”

He also criticised the “haphazard” system of recording police assaults which had led him to do his own research into the violence faced against officers.

Chief Constables have now been told they must measure the true level of officers injured in assaults.

Policing Minister Brandon Lewis announced forces will be expected to provide the data from next year.

He said: “Creating this new crime classification is an important step in providing a more complete picture of assaults experienced by police officers. This additional information will help chief officers to understand what is happening in their forces and to protect their officers and staff.

“That is why I have written today to Chief Constable Sara Thornton, the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, to encourage forces to adopt this new crime classification as soon as possible.

“In my letter, I have taken the opportunity to stress the importance that this government places on police officer safety as I did in my conversation earlier.”