IT IS \u201cnot good enough\u201d that offenders jailed for assaulting emergency service workers receive on average less than 12 weeks in prison, according to South Yorkshire Police Federation.<\/p>\n
Data from the Ministry of Justice data since November 2018 shows that offenders jailed for assaulting emergency workers received an average sentence of just 2.6 months.<\/p>\n
The data covers the period in which the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act has been in force. The Act doubled the maximum jail term to 12 months.<\/p>\n
The statistics showed that only 13% of criminals faced jail after assaulting an emergency worker and just 18% were handed a fine since the Act was introduced.<\/p>\n
A total of 8,647 individuals had so far been prosecuted under the Act.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chairman Steve Kent said: \u201cThere needs to be a mandatory sentence when there\u2019s an assault on a police officer that results in an injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen officers in South Yorkshire recently who\u2019ve been almost throttled unconscious by people. A mandatory sentence for that would be the only deterrent.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment there\u2019s a postcode lottery with courts, and courts that have got low conviction and prison referral rates are just continuing to do that when police officers are assaulted. It\u2019s not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve pointed out that if trials were at magistrates\u2019 courts they had the power to give six-month prison sentences, and that they should give that full six months for an assault involving injury against a police officer. He said: \u201cThat should be the starting point.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that at the moment criminals think they can get away with assaulting officers.<\/p>\n
He explained: \u201cThere\u2019s an absolute sea change in the way people take police on, and people who are willing to assault police officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in the job 17 years, nearly all of it frontline, and I\u2019ve seen the attitude towards police officers completely change. People don\u2019t care. It\u2019s very sad. It\u2019s a social issue as well, not necessarily just a sentencing issue. But respect for police officers has gone downhill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve called the courts \u201ca toothless tiger\u201d and said anyone who assaulted an officer and left them with any kind of ongoing injury should go to prison. He said: \u201cIt won\u2019t take long for that message to get out.\u201d<\/p>\n
PFEW Chair John Apter said: \u201cThe fact that nearly nine out of 10 individuals who are charged under the new Act walk free from a court is a disgrace and an insult.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Act was intended to protect police officers, act as a deterrent, and punish those who have no regard for the rule of law. While we welcome the high conviction rate, a few weeks in jail is certainly not a sufficient penalty for any assault that could have devastating personal impact on my colleagues and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n