ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE
After the incident, PC Harriman was off work for over three weeks before returning to full duties but is now anxious about being single-crewed. Andy Spence, chair of Leicestershire Police Federation, said the sentence given to the offender was “woeful”. He said: “The sentencing from the court is weak and woeful and does nothing to deter offenders from assaulting our officers. Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated incident. “In this case, there is no opportunity to
appeal against the sentence. An offender has used her car to deliberately run over an officer and has been given no effective punishment. She has used the vehicle as a weapon. “She did not have a driving licence anyway, so being disqualified from driving will mean nothing to her. This is not justice for or officer and does not send any type of deterrent to the offender.”
file officers and special constables, will continue to address this issue in every forum. It is working with the Crown Prosecution Service, the Home Office, Oscar Kilo, and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to find ways to resolve and deter assaults on officers, ensuring they are adequately safeguarded and supported. We must not let this issue be dismissed as too difficult—just ask the 45 907 officers assaulted last year about the difficulty. Dave Brewster, national Operation
Hampshire coordinator for the National Police Wellbeing Service commented
are crucial in supporting prosecutions. “VPSs are integral to sentencing decisions. It is essential to understand the harm, culpability, and aggravating factors for assault offences to improve outcomes. Factors such as the defendant’s intention to cause fear of serious harm, the severity of injury, psychological harm, and previous convictions should be clearly articulated in evidence. The court cannot assume these elements, so they must be clearly stated when relevant.”
“We call on MPs to properly back our
bobbies. Protect the protectors can’t just be a slogan, it needs to be enforced with meaningful action. Otherwise, the recruitment and
retention crisis policing is currently suffering will only get worse.”
Mr Spence added: “We call on MPs to properly back our bobbies. Protect the protectors can’t just be a slogan, it needs to be enforced with meaningful action. Otherwise, the recruitment and retention crisis policing is currently suffering will only get worse.”
Through Operation Hampshire, work is underway to create a national police assaults dataset made up of 18 metrics to provide a more detailed understanding of the issue which could potentially reduce the 46,000 assaults on police. This data has been approved for inclusion in the Annual Data Returns for 2024/25 and all forces are being encouraged to prepare for this change in order to better support our colleagues.
Identifying training needs, providing
suitable occupational health services, and addressing deployment issues can save public funds and increase the number of officers available to protect communities. There have been shocking instances where offenders were let off due to the unavailability of a barrister, leaving injured officers without justice. Officers should reasonably expect full support from the criminal justice system when assaulted on duty. The high number of assaults on police officers is a serious issue that cannot be ignored. These assaults are severe crimes and must be treated with the seriousness they deserve. The Police Federation of England and Wales, representing 150,000 rank-and-
on the legislative changes and their impact. He explained: “The introduction of the Assault on Emergency Workers Act in 2018, which increased maximum sentencing from six months to two years, felt like real progress. It coincided with the Protect the Protectors campaign launched by PFEW and generated significant energy for Operation Hampshire, encouraging the reporting of assaults. “However, assessing whether there has been a significant increase in sentencing specifically for assaults on police officers and staff victims is challenging as the act obviously covers a wide range of occupations. “The new act became an ‘either way,’ offence and so provides the option for defendants to elect for trial for what may be considered straightforward common assault cases. While the potential for more significant sentencing through Crown Court is welcomed, we understand in many cases it can lead to delays in hearings which previously would have been heard sooner in a magistrates’ court. The subsequent delay often impacts negatively upon victims. The saying ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ might be relevant here. Despite these challenges, perseverance is key. Reporting and investigating assaults is the first step in improving criminal justice outcomes. Well-structured and detailed statements, corroborating evidence with CCTV and body-worn video, and well- crafted victim impact statements (VPS)
He continued: “Culpability factors might include the defendant’s intention to cause fear, prolonged assault, use of a weapon, or leading role in group activity. Harm factors could involve the severity of injury, psychological harm, or distress caused. Aggravating factors might include previous convictions, offences committed on bail, hate
motivation, deliberate spitting, coughing, or biting, and offences committed under the influence of alcohol or drugs. “VPSs should emphasise any physical
injury, psychological harm, or distress. They should detail the impact on the victim’s confidence, role as a police officer, family life, and any additional support required. Police officers and our staff colleagues have the right to be seen and treated as victims, and showing impact and any vulnerability is part of the evidential process. “My final point is to remember that Op Hampshire was created and is being driven for you. You are important people to society and deserve to be supported. You are influential in this. Encourage the reporting of assaults, if it’s not recorded, we have no starting point to move forward from and it could potentially mask the bigger picture. As supervisors, be consistent in the quality of your response and consider the impact of every assault. That 10 minutes or so you spend with one of your officers or members of staff can make a huge difference to their victim experience. Make it count. Encourage the use of victim personal accounts, promote the initiative, and help others understand the expectations. Let’s keep Operation Hampshire moving forward.”
Further advice and guidance including statement and VPS top tips can be found at
www.oscarkilo.org.uk/services/ operation-hampshire
49 | POLICE | AUGUST | 2024
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