Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill – APCC response
Responding to the progress of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill, which has now completed its passage in the House of Commons, APCC Workforce Lead, Ron Hogg PCC said:
“The Assaults on Emergency Workers Bill will give police officers and the wider emergency services, who do so much to keep us safe, better protections when going about their vitally important work.
“This legislation is a welcome step forward and the creation of a new aggravated offence will act as a powerful deterrent in dealing with the growing problem of assaults on emergency workers. Today’s decision to also include sexual assault as an aggravated offence in the Bill is also extremely important.
“The reality is that emergency service workers often find themselves in vulnerable situations and the current position is simply unacceptable. The Police Federation estimate that a police officer is assaulted every 13 seconds. No emergency service worker should have to put up with the constant threat of being assaulted when simply doing their job.”