WARRINGTON North MP Helen Jones is calling on the government to take steps to keep Police Officers safe from attack after an event in Parliament highlighted the shocking extent of the problem.
During the ‘Protect the Protectors’ event in Parliament Police Federation and serving Police Officers discussed the latest assault figures and how violence towards the police affected their ability to protect their communities.
The most recent Home Office figures on police officer assaults during the financial year 2015/16 revealed there were approximately 23,000 assaults on Police Officers with over 400 assaults in Cheshire alone.
These figures are thought to be an underestimate as the Home Office believe that many assaults go unreported. In addition some police forces do not collect data recording the total number of assaults meaning that the national figures provide an incomplete picture of the situation.
A Police Federation spokesman said: “An assault on a police officer is an assault on society and more needs to be done to keep them safe.
“ Officers accept the risk and the public also understand the dangers of the job, but the amount of assaults taking place is alarming. “
Ms Jones said: ““ This campaign is about asking the Home office to record all instances of assaults on officers. This will enable us to really understand the scale of the problem, and do something about it.
“There needs to be tougher sentences for those who assault the police. The courts must be able to provide a strong deterrent against attacks on our front line officers.”
