On 19th June, Home Secretary pledged to unveil plans to double the jail sentences for offenders who assault emergency workers to “make these thugs think twice.”
Priti Patel has pledged to double the sentence year to two-years especially as police figures showed assaults on emergency service workers have risen by 24 per cent in the last four weeks to the beginning of June. These offences include spitting and coughing attacks on staff. In a statement to The Daily Telegraph, she said,
“The senseless violence we have seen levelled at brave police officers in recent weeks is incredibly alarming. An attack on one of our brave officers is an attack on us all. Last week, I spoke to officers who had been attacked in the line of duty to hear at first hand the devastating impact on them and their loved ones.
“The Justice Secretary and I are determined to get justice for emergency service workers who are assaulted while on the job, so in the next few weeks we will launch a consultation on doubling the maximum sentence for assaulting an emergency worker to make these thugs think twice.”
According to the National Police Chiefs’ Council there was a spike in the Covid-related attacks where offenders claimed to have the disease and then spat or coughed at workers. Attacks the first of their kind first emerged when a man suspected of Covid-19 had coughed on a TfL ticket collector. Belly Mujinga, 47, was working on the concourse of Victoria station on 22nd March when a man who said he had Covid-19 spat and coughed at her and a colleague. Within days of the assault, both women fell ill with the virus and later Mujinga died. Following "extensive inquiries" British Transport Police (BTP) decided the attack did not lead to her death.
Patel’s announcement comes in the aftermath of the Covid-19 attacks and the disorder in protests triggered by the death of George Floyd in the US. It follows a 14 per cent rise in such assaults in the previous month.
The NPCC figures also showed overall crime has started to creep up after falling by 28 per cent at the peak of the lockdown. It was down overall by 18 per cent in the last month, according to the provisional data from all 43 police forces in England and Wales. Police chiefs believe the relaxation of lockdown has made it easier for victims to report incidents to police after being restricted by being locked in 24/7 with their abusive partners.
