POLICE officers are sadly becoming society\u2019s \u201cpunch bags\u201d during the Covid-19 crisis, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Officers have seen a 30% increase in police assaults between March and November 2020 compared with the previous year. An average of 16 attacks on South Yorkshire Police officers were reported each week compared to an average of 12 between March and November 2019.<\/p>\n
Steve Kent, Federation Chairman, said: \u201cI think there is a direct correlation with Covid. Society is frustrated. People are cooped up indoors and things are happening like domestic violence and other aggression, and officers are having to put themselves in the middle of that and therefore putting themselves in, unfortunately, the line of sight for violent people. They are becoming a punch bag for society\u2019s frustration with Covid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve called for proper minimum sentencing and mandatory sentencing, if people are to be properly deterred from attacking police officers.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe deterrent has to be prison time. Any kind of assault with injury, or bodily fluid in terms of spitting, coughing, should carry a mandatory prison sentence. Even if it\u2019s an automatic three months. Something that\u2019s automatic, gets out there, gets in the press, gets in the media. People need to think \u201cIf I crack this cop now, I know I\u2019m going to prison\u2019. At the minute they\u2019ve done it probably three or four times before and they\u2019ve got away with it so they know they\u2019re just going to get away with it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also warned that officers could be endangered by the relaxation of restrictions that will see a huge increase in binge drinking.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe\u2019re going to have a summer of hopefully happiness but also a summer of a lot of people going out and getting drunk. I\u2019m a bit worried about what it\u2019s going to be like for the next six months.\u201d<\/p>\n