INCREASED sentencing powers brought in by the Protect the Protectors campaign are not being used to punish people who assault police officers, says South Yorkshire Police Federation.<\/p>\n
The Police Federation campaign successfully saw legislation change to double the length of jail time for assaults on blue light workers to 12 months.<\/p>\n
The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill became law in November last year but the powers it affords the courts are still not being used enough of the time says Federation Chairman Steve Kent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not dripped down yet and there\u2019s not been a knock-on effect.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe welcomed the legislation change because it\u2019s a step in the right direction, but there doesn\u2019t seem to have been any sort of alteration in the sentencing policies and the sentences that are dished out for assaulting PCs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce every 20 minutes a cop\u2019s assaulted in England and Wales. We rarely see any sort of sentences that reflect the severity of what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of the sentences received by thugs who assault officers have been highlighted in shows such as Channel Five\u2019s Police Code Zero in which officers talk about the violence and assaults they endure on the frontline.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good that the public is starting to see it through shows like Police Code Zero, because they will become aware of it, and that\u2019s the only way there\u2019s going to be pressure applied,\u201d Steve added.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what I would like to see is that an assault on an emergency service worker to become a proper aggravated factor in any assault, and it\u2019s an automatic growing of the sentence, rather than it just being an optional one for the magistrates or the judges.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce that message gets down a few times amongst the people who do tend to resist arrest and fight with us, then it might get out there and then it might start making the difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the public actually have any idea how much danger we face in terms of that, and people\u2019s blas\u00e9 attitude towards assaulting police officers and emergency service workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just like a daily occurrence and it just seems to be the norm for them. I don\u2019t think the public realises that, so any kind of programme that brings that awareness is obviously welcomed.\u201d<\/p>\n
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