(Halifax) (Lab)
I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make certain
offences including malicious wounding, grievous or actual
bodily harm and common assault aggravated when perpetrated
against a constable, firefighter, doctor, paramedic or nurse
in the execution of his or her duty or against a person
assisting these persons in the execution of their duty; to
make provision to require those suspected of certain assaults
that may pose a health risk, including spitting, to be
required to undergo blood tests and to make it an offence,
without reasonable excuse, to refuse to undergo such tests;
to make provision about the sentences for those convicted of
the offences; and for connected purposes.
I come to the Chamber once again to raise the profile of the
risks facing those working on the frontline in our emergency
services. I seek approval for a Bill that would offer our
police officers, firefighters, doctors, nurses and paramedics
greater protection from harm than that allowed under existing
legislation.
Having been out with all the emergency services in my
constituency, may I start by paying tribute to the work that
they do? Behind the uniforms are incredibly brave and
dedicated individuals who, regrettably, face risks that they
simply should not have to face on an almost daily basis. They
routinely go above and beyond their duties to keep the public
safe, yet when someone sets out deliberately to injure or
assault an emergency responder, the laws in place must convey
how unacceptable that is in the strongest possible terms.
This Bill sets out to do just that.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the many Members
who, on a cross-party basis, have lent their support to my
“Protect the Protectors” campaign. I launched the campaign
after spending a Friday evening in August out on patrol with
West Yorkshire police in my constituency. I joined PC Craig
Gallant, who was single crewed and responding to 999 calls.
When a routine stop very quickly turned nasty, I was so
concerned for his safety that I rang 999 myself to stress
just how urgently he needed back-up. Thankfully, other
officers arrived at the scene shortly afterwards to help to
manage the situation. Although, amazingly, no injuries were
sustained on that occasion, I saw the dangers for myself and
understood just how vulnerable officers are when they are out
on their own.
Following that incident, and having secured an Adjournment
debate on this very issue, police officers from all over the
country started to contact me with their harrowing stories of
being attacked while on duty. What has shocked me, and what
thoroughly depresses police officers, is that sentences
handed down to offenders for assaulting the police often fail
to reflect the seriousness of the crime or, more crucially,
to serve as a deterrent.
To assault a police officer is to show a complete disregard
for law and order, our shared values and democracy itself,
and that must be reflected in sentencing, particularly for
those who are repeat offenders. Many officers described
feeling like they had suffered an injustice twice—first at
the hands of the offender; and then again in court when
sentences were unduly lenient. Within two weeks of the
incident involving PC Gallant, PC Dan McLaughlin from Halifax
was assaulted when, during an arrest, an angry male grabbed
his radio and used it to strike him repeatedly on the head. I
am pleased that PC McLaughlin is able to join us today in
support of this legislative change, which would help to keep
him and his colleagues safe.
During my Adjournment debate in October, I outlined the flaws
in the Home Office’s then system for collecting data on just
how many assaults there were on police officers. I welcome
the fact that the Minister listened and that changes were
made, which we all hope will give us a much more accurate
picture.
Official Home Office statistics suggest that there were just
over 23,000 assaults on police officers last year. That is
450 a week, and it equates to an officer being assaulted
every 22 minutes. However, just this week the Police
Federation published the results of its welfare survey, which
was undertaken by 17,000 serving police officers. The survey
revealed that there are actually closer to 6,000 assaults
every day—an assault every 13 seconds—with the average police
officer being assaulted 19 times a year.
In our Opposition day debate on police officer safety at the
end of last year, my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East
(Jessica Morden) told the Chamber about the mum she had met
who told her children that their dad was the clumsiest man in
the world to explain away his bruises when he came home from
work as a police officer. Although the figures sound
incredibly high, they sound worryingly in line with the
experiences of that family.
My Bill would protect not just police officers, but all
blue-light emergency responders. A report published just
before Christmas by Yorkshire ambulance service revealed that
staff faced “violence and aggression” on a weekly basis.
There was a 50% increase in reported incidents of verbal and
physical attacks on staff, with 606 incidents reported in
2015-16. Richard Bentley, a paramedic in Leeds, told the BBC
that he had faced three serious assaults in five years. He
had been bitten, head-butted and threatened with a knife.
Members of West Yorkshire fire and rescue service have also
reported being subject to assaults. On bonfire night, the
service received 1,043 calls, with crews attending 265
incidents. It was disgraceful that, faced with such pressures
on the busiest night of the year, firefighters in West
Yorkshire were also subject to 19 attacks overnight. The Bill
would ensure that anyone who assaults an emergency service
responder, doctor or nurse, and is charged with malicious
wounding, grievous bodily harm, actual bodily harm or common
assault, would be eligible for a tougher sentence because an
assault on an emergency service worker is an assault on
society. It is totally unacceptable that public servants who
are working in their communities, protecting people and
helping the vulnerable are subject to assaults as they go
about their jobs. These changes would go some way towards
reflecting that.
The second aspect of the Bill aims to deal with the hideous
act of spitting at emergency service workers. As well as
being horrible, spitting blood and saliva at another human
being can pose a very real risk of transmitting a range of
infectious diseases, some with life-changing or even lethal
consequences. At an event organised by my hon. Friend the
Member for Wolverhampton South West (Rob Marris), I met PC
Mike Bruce and PC Alan O’Shea of West Midlands police. Both
officers had blood spat in their faces while trying to arrest
a violent offender. They both had to undergo antiviral
treatments to reduce their risk of contracting communicable
diseases, and they faced a six-month wait to find out whether
the treatment had been successful. During that time, PC
O’Shea was advised that he could not see his brother, who was
undergoing cancer treatment, because the risk of passing on
an infection was too high. He was also advised not to see his
parents because they were in such regular contact with his
brother.
PC Bruce had a false positive result for hepatitis B, and for
six months until conclusive test results came through, he was
understandably reluctant to be close to his wife or children,
fearing for their wellbeing. I am pleased that PC Bruce and
PC O’Shea are here today to lend their support to these
changes which, had they been in place at the time, might have
saved them such an agonising wait.
In previous speeches I have made on the issue, I shared with
Members the story of Arina Koltsova, a police officer in
Ukraine who died after contracting tuberculosis from an
offender who spat at her while she was trying to arrest him.
At the moment, if an emergency service worker is spat at,
they can take a blood sample from an individual only if that
person gives their permission. Needless to say that in the
case of PC O’Shea and PC Bruce, the offender was not in a
helpful mood, so they were subjected to antiviral treatments
and a six-month wait.
Laws in Australia provide that refusal to give a blood sample
can result in a $12,000 fine and a custodial sentence. My
Bill would mean that refusing to provide a blood sample will,
in itself, be a crime punishable by fine or custodial
sentence. If an emergency service worker, doctor or nurse has
already had to endure being spat at, this measure would
hopefully save them having to endure a six-month ordeal of
waiting to see if the consequences are much more serious.
It has been made very clear to me that the experience I had
out on the streets of my constituency last summer was not an
isolated incident. It reflected the daily challenge that our
police officers face. Paramedics, firefighters, doctors and
nurses are sadly also in need of these protections, yet it is
worth remembering that when they find themselves under
attack, it is the police who are called. I hope that this
change in sentencing will go a small way towards giving these
dedicated public servants the protections they should not
require, but sadly do.
I am not naive to the nature of ten-minute rule Bills, and
nor am I under any illusions about where we are in the
parliamentary calendar, but I hope that the Policing Minister
and the Home Office team have heard the details of my Bill
and will reflect on its merits. I commend the Bill to the
House.
Question put and agreed to.
Ordered,
That , , , , , , , , , , and present the Bill.
accordingly presented the
Bill.
Bill read the First time; to be a read a Second time on
Friday 24 March, and to be printed (Bill 136).
