Police officers 'being treated with contempt' after man behind assault given discharge
The region's Police Federation has said its officers are "being treated with contempt" after a man was given a conditional discharge for assaulting a police officer.
Paul Martin, 30, of Telford, was given the punishment after admitting charges of common assault on a former girlfriend, and assault on an emergency worker, when he appeared at Telford Magistrates Court.
Martin, who was on licence from prison at the time of the incident, in Wellington on New Year's Eve, was given a 24-month conditional discharge for each offence – to run concurrently.
The court had heard a statement from PC James Morris who said that while he was trying to arrest Martin, he had "pushed me with his arm and used his right forearm to pin me against the wall arm across the neck".
Now West Mercia Police Federation chair Barry Horton has questioned the sentence – saying officers are "being treated with contempt," adding that such offences "should result in much tougher sentences".
Mr Horton said: “On this occasion the offender was given a conditional discharge which is simply not enough for their actions. What sort of a message does that send out?
“Officers are treated with contempt and assaulting a police officer for simply doing their job should have resulted in a far higher sentence.
“We would urge judges and magistrates to deliver the toughest possible sentences on those convicted of assaulting a police officer.
“Such attacks must never be dismissed as being ‘part of the job’ because no one should have to tolerate being exposed to violence of any kind when they go to work.”
Successive Home Secretaries have vowed to clamp down on individuals who carry out attacks on emergency service workers.
The 2022 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act saw the maximum sentence for assaults on blue light workers increase from 12 months to two years.
That followed extensive lobbying from the Police Federation with its 'Protect The Protectors' campaign.
Home Office figures for assaults on police officers show that in 12 months up to March 2022, a total of 671 West Mercia Police officers were assaulted with 207 suffering injuries as a result.
National data for the same period show there were 41,221 assaults on officers across England and Wales, up from 37,968 the previous year.
