Harsher sentences for people who attack police officers “would be very welcome”, the head of the national body for police bosses has said.<\/p>\n
Katy Bourne, the new chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), said anyone who hurts an officer should go to prison, “no ifs, no buts”.<\/p>\n
She made the remarks after the death of PC Andrew Harper in the line of duty.<\/p>\n
It comes as all chief constables\u00a0were called<\/a>\u00a0to a summit on officer safety.<\/p>\n The urgent meeting – the first time the chief constables have ever come together outside of their usual quarterly meetings – will discuss how frontline policing can be made safer.<\/p>\n Currently, people guilty of common assault against emergency services staff can be fined or sent to prison. Last year the maximum jail term\u00a0was doubled from six to 12 months.<\/a><\/p>\n In her first interview since beginning her new role earlier this year, Mrs Bourne said: “If you attack a police officer, you need to know you will go to prison.”<\/p>\n Mrs Bourne – who also sits on the prime minister’s recently formed National Policing Board – added: “When we do catch people I think the sentencing needs to be reflective of the seriousness of the crime.”<\/p>\n Over the last four years, the number of Sussex officers injured in attacks has risen by 16% to an average of three a day, she said.<\/p>\n Mrs Bourne, who is the police and crime commissioner for Sussex Police, branded the increase in her “relatively safe, peaceful” county as “unacceptable”.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Martin Hewitt, the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), called an urgent meeting for all chief constables, saying: “If we can’t protect our people, how can we protect the public?”<\/p>\n The summit, which will be held in early September, will see the top officers share lessons from the recent attacks on their frontline officers as part of a discussion “to see if there is anything more we can do to tangibly improve their safety”, Mr Hewitt said.<\/p>\n The Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, has also been asked to give its input.<\/p>\n Although Mr Hewitt said it was important not to have “knee-jerk” reactions to events, he added: “Levels of violence are an increasing concern across the country and attacks on our officers have gone up,” he said in\u00a0a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n “It is the responsibility of each chief constable to do all they can to keep their officers as safe as possible,” he added.<\/p>\n Mrs Bourne also said she would ask Home Secretary Priti Patel to consider using Sussex Police’s knife crime pilot prevention programme to help to tackle the issue across a wider area.<\/p>\n Known as Reboot, the early youth intervention programme involves police, health professionals and charities joining forces to encourage children to develop interests and hobbies to help deter them from anti-social behaviour.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, earlier this week, Northamptonshire Police announced it would be the first force in the country\u00a0to arm all of its frontline officers with Tasers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Days later it was joined by a second force, Durham Constabulary, which said every frontline officer who wanted one would undergo training to use the stun guns.<\/p>\n Some studies have linked the increased use or presence of Tasers with an increase in hostility between police and the public.<\/p>\n Ch Con Giles York – vice chair of the NPCC –\u00a0told BBC Breakfast<\/a>: “There is always a balance to be struck around how we equip our officers and still maintain that British piece of policing that is policing by consent.”<\/p>\n Earlier this month, a police officer was stabbed in Leyton, east London, and two officers in Merseyside were attacked in separate incidents.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"‘Unacceptable’<\/h2>\n