'Despicable' rise in assaults against police officers on duty in Leeds

Another punched an officer and kicked them in the head, leaving them with concussion, pain in their right arm and head, and loss of movement in their thumb.

Other officers were injured by suspects ramming police vehicles, throwing broken glass at their face or speeding towards them on motorbikes.

They were among the victims of the most serious assaults recorded against police officers and staff in Leeds during the past three years.

"The effect of an assault can have the obvious physical injury, but what is not often seen is the psychological effect," said West Yorkshire Police Federation chairman Brian Booth.

"Often officers who have been badly assaulted need counselling help and in the worst cases treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. This effects the officer, their colleagues, their families and ultimately the public when that officer is unfit for duty."

It is by no means an issue in Leeds alone, although the officer in charge of operational policing in the city says it is a "very complex metropolitan area".

Superintendent Chris Bowen said: "Police officers and staff undertake an extremely challenging job. They never know what they're going to. They've only ever got the very basic details that a call handler has been able to take.

"Officers are trained to make a dynamic threat assessment. They have a collection of equipment that's there to protect them and the public. They're trained to use the minimum amount of force that they can to bring a situation under control. Our preferred option will always be to calm everybody down verbally.

Sometimes the very kit designed to help bring a volatile suspect under control can be turned against them an officer though.

During one incident in Leeds in 2017, a suspect managed to grab a container of CS or pepper spray from the centre console of a police vehicle. The suspect then sprayed the officers inside the vehicle and escaped from the scene.

West Yorkshire Police data shows the number of recorded assaults on officers and staff in Leeds district stood at 822 in 2019, an increase of 31 per cent compared to 2017 when the figure stood at 626.

Arrests in relation to those offences rose by the same amount, up from 483 in 2017 to 634 last year.

But the number of charges brought following assaults actually fell by around five per cent, to a three-year low of 354.

Supt Bowen said he believed wider work to improve the recording of crime was a factor in the apparent increase in assaults, along with a specific focus on encouraging officers to report any occasions where they were attacked while on duty.

"In the past we might have recorded the most serious assaults but now we're recording everything," he said. "If we understand the full scale of the problem, we can make alterations to protect officers. Is there new equipment, a new tactic we need?"

This might be the body worn cameras allowing all officers to capture evidence, or the Tasers now being given to more of those out on the frontline.

Also in crime: Taser use by West Yorkshire Police nearly doubled last year

Mr Booth thinks improved recording is not the primary explanation, saying that had been the case for the three years since the Protect the Protectors campaign began.

Led by the federation and Halifax MP Holly Lynch, the campaign resulted in the creation of a specific offence outlawing attacks on any emergency worker.

"I would say the figures will show a true reflection of an increasing issue," Mr Booth said. "It is despicable to see a continued rise in assaults on my colleagues."

He said there had been more than 200 assaults recorded against officers in West Yorkshire during January alone

, adding: "Enough is enough, my colleagues are sick and tired of being treated like punch bags. I have spoken with my Chief Officer Team about our concerns and they are as equally tired of the trend."

While assaults are rising, the figures suggest the charges against those who attack officers are falling.

Supt Bowen said: "Sometimes the charges don't necessarily always tally. You might get somebody arrested for an assault but the more appropriate charge might be a public order offence. They might not get charged with the assault on the officer themselves.

"It might not be bad enough to charge it. The Crown Prosecution Service might say a public order offence might be more appropriate, or a community resolution."

The CPS revealed in January that it had prosecuted more than 50 assaults a day during the first year of the legislation being introduced.

Almost 20,000 charges were brought nationally under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act between November 2018 and 2019.

A review sample revealed nine in 10 assaults were against police officers – almost always when the attacker was intoxicated due to drink or drugs and being arrested for an unrelated offence.

Separate Ministry of Justice figures for 2018, based on the first cases to go through the courts, show a conviction rate of 90 per cent.

But there has been criticism of the sentences being handed out after it emerged that just 13 per cent of those convicted are being sent to jail, with more being let off with a fine.

The average time behind bars was never longer than three months and the maximum sentence of 12 months had never been used, according to data covering the first 11 months since the new law came into effect.

Also in crime: Three people arrested after police officers assaulted in Harehills

Mr Booth said: "We have been let down with the handling of some court cases lately, primarily around the allowance to plea bargain prior to a trial.

"We need support of both the courts and the Crown prosecutors to make the legislation a true deterrent. Without this support, we can only campaign with the law makers to introduce a minimum mandatory prison sentence for those who assault and injure our emergency workers."

In an effort to ensure any prosecutions are successful, West Yorkshire Police has worked alongside the federation to review how cases can be better presented.

An eight-point investigation plan was also put in place, including a statement to the courts from the chief constable outlining the scale of the issue and the impact on policing arising for each assault.

Combined with the campaigning and publicity surrounding this issue, it has changed the culture within the force when it comes to assaults on officers.

Supt Bowen said: "I think the force has been on a journey over a number of years. Perhaps when I was a young PC, I did accept it was part of being a PC. Now I accept it's not the case and that nobody should go through some of the things I experienced as a young officer.

"Nobody should have to go through an assault. An assault on any emergency worker is totally unacceptable."

Like Mr Booth, he believes the courts needs to use their powers to the full extent to deter offenders - and we might yet see those powers strengthened.

Home Secretary Priti Patel this week suggested stronger penalties for those who assaulted officers as she launched a consultation on a new Police Covenant.

Supt Bowen said publicity of any longer sentences handed down would serve as a deterrent over time but, ultimately, this kind of crime needed to become socially unacceptable in the way that other offences such as drink driving have done.

"We need that general culture change to happen," he said. "It's about education, it's about awareness, it's about working with young people to bring through to the next generation that emergency workers are there to help you - they're not there to be a punchbag, to be assaulted."

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