THUGS who carry out serious assaults on police and emergency service workers need to face tougher sentences says SYPF.\u00a0It says the recent Protect the Protectors Bill, which becomes law in November, is a step in the right direction in ensuring justice is served on those who assault officers, but that more needs to be done to tackle serious assaults.<\/p>\n
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\u201cProtect the Protectors becoming law is very welcome and very positive,\u201d said South Yorkshire Police Federation Chairman Steve Kent.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore needs to be done to send out a stronger message and the most important way to send that message about attacks on police and NHS and our other partners is for more serious offences to get the custodial sentences that they should be getting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis law applies to quite low, common assaults, and while it\u2019s great that sentences are doubling, what I\u2019m absolutely fed up of seeing is cops with horrendous wounds and broken bones.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then you read the stories of a ridiculously pathetic sentence where some people are escaping jail for wounding cops and for doing all sorts of horrendous things.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhilst I welcome the low level change I do think there needs to be more work done on the more serious end because I don\u2019t think it\u2019s currently good enough. The sentencing powers are out there so why aren\u2019t they being used?<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps years down the line we need to maybe look at a twin offense where it becomes an aggravating factor for serious offenses for it to be on an emergency service member for example,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
And time will tell whether the new legislation will make a different to officers out on the frontline.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe proof will be in the pudding \u2013 officers know it\u2019s out there and they know things will hopefully be changing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut they have quite understandably become cynical because there hasn\u2019t been any change for so long.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy finger was literally broken, snapped, in an assault and he actually got found not guilty. But it was unbelievable the way it was handled by the courts. It was almost shambolic,\u201d Steve said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t do anything about it at the time, but it\u2019s left a sore memory with me. So, as we start seeing cases going forward and we see this new legislation being used in terms of the low-level assaults then yes, I think it will have a positive impact.\u201d<\/p>\n