Average of five assaults a week on South Yorkshire Cops

‘ABHORRENT’ attacks on police officers in South Yorkshire is a depressing sign of the times.

Figures show that assaults on officers in the region have almost doubled in a year – to an average of five attacks a week. Sadly, it would appear to be a symptom of a society in decline,” said South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Zuleika Payne, who’s calling for officers to get all the ‘must haves’ of PPE so they can protect themselves whilst on duty.

“It’s almost inconceivable to think there are individuals out there who are prepared to attack police officers and emergency service workers when they are out there, coming to the aid of others, but that is the reality of it.

“The attacks on police are abhorrent in every sense. Police officers are incredibly brave individuals and we should be immensely proud of them.”

Stronger sentencing and taking a ‘zero tolerance’ approach, under the banner of the PFEW’s #ProtectTheProtectors campaign, together with ensuring officers have what they need to deter assaults on duty might help tackle the growing problem Zuleika said.

“Zero tolerance has to be the only way, and this needs to be backed up by the judiciary system, we need proper sentencing and proper punishments handed down for these assaults to offer up some sort of deterrent.

“Making sure officers have the right PPE is important too. We can no longer patrol with a cape, a whistle and a wooden truncheon. Those days have long gone – Taser, extendable batons, anything which can make officers safer and deter assaults are all now absolute must-haves,” she said.