'It can't be right for those who assault police officers to get a slap on the wrist,' says Leicestershire Police Federation Chair

26 February 2020

'It can't be right for those who assault police officers to get a slap on the wrist,' says Leicestershire Police Federation Chair

It can't be right for offenders who assault police officers to receive a slap on the wrist, the Chair of Leicestershire Police Federation has said, as the Home Secretary vows to change the law to get stronger sentences for those who attack police officers.

Speaking to the Daily Express as she launched a consultation for a new Police Covenant, the Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “We have to be very clear – to hurt an officer is simply unacceptable and if we have to change our laws to reflect that, we will.” 

She said she was motivated to push for stronger penalties following the death of PC Harper, the Thames Valley Police officer who was killed last year while responding to a burglary.

In November 2018 the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act doubled the previous maximum prison sentence for assaults on emergency workers to 12 months. However figures show that most offenders are being let off with a fine.

Leicestershire Police Federation Chair Dave Stokes said: “This is truly welcome news. The public, chief officer teams and the Federation have been pushing this for a long time.

My message as Chair of Leicestershire Police Federation has always been simple: it can't be right for any emergency services staff, doing their role of protecting the public, to be assaulted and then the offender receives a slap on the wrist.”