The Ministry of Justice says it will support the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill, meaning offenders who attack emergency service workers such as ambulance and NHS staff, firefighters, police officers etc. will receive a twice-fold maximum prison sentence.
The new rules, proposed by Former Labour minister Chris Bryant, also require judges to consider the assault on 999 workers on an equal sitting with hate crimes.
According to the Daily Mail, a government spokesman stated: “We owe our brave emergency service workers a debt of gratitude for the courage, commitment and dedication they demonstrate in carrying out their duties.
“This crucial change will send a clear message that we will not tolerate attacks on them, and we will work to ensure those who are violent face the full force of the law.”
These new laws come on the back of increased attacks on emergency services staff, and according to national statistics, assaults on NHS staff rose from just shy of 60,000 in 2011/12 to over 70,000 in 2015/16.
The law is likely to be enforced as of next year. Chris Bryant says: “I hope this new law will put an end to the worrying rise in assaults on workers in the emergency workers…It will send out a signal that an assault on them is an assault on all of us.
“There has been an enormous rise in the number of incidents and all too often magistrates seem to think it is just part of people's jobs to accept the might get punched if they work in the emergency services. That is not acceptable, and we need to change it.
“This new law will make it clear that the public want a zero tolerance approach and I am glad that, after weeks of wrangling, the Government has decided to support it rather than watering it down.”
