ATTACKS on police led to GMP losing hundreds of working days last year.
A total of 832 days were missed - the equivalent to three full-time staff.
Among the victims was Pc John Goodwin. He was on patrol during the riots that marred last year's Uefa cup final between Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester.
Stamping
Mobile phone and CCTV footage captured a dozen Rangers fans kicking and stamping on the 44-year-old as he lay unconscious.
Others could be heard shouting: `Glass him'.
Brain
He suffered a brain injury and was off work for six months.
Pc Goodwin was attacked in the same charge that saw Pc Mick Regan pulled to safety by a heroic passer-by.
The figures came in a written Parliamentary answer by police minister Vernon Coaker.
Protected
Now Hazel Grove Liberal Democrat MP Andrew Stunell is calling for officers to be better protected.
He said: "Violence against police officers is totally unacceptable. They clearly aren't being provided with the protection that they need to do their jobs.
'Zero tolerance'
"Current measures are clearly not effective enough. There must be zero tolerance on attacks, abuse and threats of violence and this means prosecuting the offenders and putting them through the courts.
"The government must do more to ensure the safety of police officers in what is already a very challenging working environment."
Forces
The new figures showed 15,338 days were lost from all the 34 forces in England and Wales.
The Manchester Evening News has called for tougher action against people who attack members of the emergency services in our Protect Our Heroes campaign.
A Home Office spokesman said: "Attacks on police officers are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
'Risk'
"Emergency workers put their lives at risk day in day out to serve our communities and it is our duty to ensure the law protects them.
"Violence against emergency workers can be dealt with under existing laws, and sentencing guidelines already stipulate that the court should impose tougher sentences for offences committed against public sector workers.
"The government is determined to reduce the devastation caused by violent crime and is doing everything it can through legislation, enforcement and community work to prevent it."
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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
Count Alucard, Stretford (23/03/2009 at 08:54)
vinay, rochdale (23/03/2009 at 11:56)
Bean B4, manchester (23/03/2009 at 13:07)
MancLadUK, Manchester (23/03/2009 at 14:14)
I think you need to realise it's not a case of anything to do with cotton wool and it's not a knock against police officer's ability. The suggestions include stiffer sentencing for police assault and other assault charges against police officers and other emergency service workers. I would have thought that everyone except offenders would support such a move. If someone's willing to commit an offence and then attack those who attend to deal with it then they need to be hammered by the law.
By making people less likely to attack police officers you will further increase their effectiveness, is good for everyone.
MancLadUK, Manchester (23/03/2009 at 14:16)
Your comments show your ignorance and a touch of stereotyping too. Such a shame that you have to use a decent article about a serious issue to just have a quick kick at the men and women that work hard to protect our communities.
The stinking kipper, pinned under the table (23/03/2009 at 14:29)
"Beab B4 Your comments show your ignorance and a touch of stereotyping too. Such a shame that you have to use a decent article about a serious issue to just have a quick kick at the men and women that work hard to protect our communities".
Sorry Manc Lad (had to laugh at the name), I happen to know that Bean is an ex-copper. So not ignorant on the subject by any means.
cheshirelad1976 (23/03/2009 at 20:30)
Sorry this is not a decent artice! Yet again this publication seek to undermine the work our police officers do. A serious issue about police officers being injured on duty reported by the MEN as number of sick days lost!
The equalizer (23/03/2009 at 23:31)
The fact of the matter is that when a copper is assaulted he/she should be entitled to the same protection from the law as anybody else. This article is simply trying to highlight the fact that vicious assaults on police are becoming more and more common.
Personally i don't see the need to advertise the matter as all it creates especially among the majority who comment on here is a frenzy of police bashing. Anyway Bean B4 the only shout you probably get these days is "Clean up required in aisle 4." Watch you don't slip pal you might be off work.
MancLadUK, Manchester (23/03/2009 at 23:43)
Obvoiusly a lot has changed since Bean B4's day if that's how Bean B4 used to do things. To post such comments about police officers on here, generalising as below, only shows ignorance to me I'm affraid.
I don't know how sure you are of this person's past, but they appear to either speak of their own personal method of working or have it quite wrong when talking about police officers in general.
The comment suggesting that officers are idle is disgusting.
MancLadUK, Manchester (23/03/2009 at 23:45)
I'm sorry, I don't agree. I don't think this article is a knock against the police, more of an awareness about the injuries and issues they can suffer. Highlighting abuse and assaults to police in the hope of tackling it is only a good thing in my mind.
It's about time that the courts started to take hard action against those who seek to attack and hurt members of any of the emergency services while they execute their duty.
Deejay, Bury (24/03/2009 at 07:50)
The stinking kipper, pinned under the table (24/03/2009 at 09:53)
The Equalizer - you should take up comedy.
Black Flag (24/03/2009 at 11:03)
I agree. Unfortunately the law has been corrupted so the the police enjoy more protection than the rest of us, which is a disgrace.
alvinlwh (24/03/2009 at 16:16)
MancLadUK, Manchester (24/03/2009 at 16:57)
It's not a case of police officers or anyone else telling people how good they are, it's a case of highlighting the issue that police, and other emergency service workers for that matter, receive a lot of abuse and often injury and that it's time to put an end to that.
Perhaps you sticking to the issue rather than applying a wooden spoon would be better?
MancLadUK, Manchester (24/03/2009 at 17:00)
I think you are completely wrong I'm affraid. If you go to court for an offence as a police officer you'll have a much higher chance of a custodial sentence than the majority of the public, including serial offenders who are in court every other week!
Like for like offences, police officers always stand a higher chance of going to prison than anyone else.
The people most likely to avoid prosecution, in my personal view, are footballers and others who can afford the very best in legal defences.
MancLadUK, Manchester (24/03/2009 at 17:04)
Although you perhaps go a little further with your suggestions than I would myself, I can see we both look at the issue and can see that a change is required.
I think it's time that people offending violently or abusively towards emergency service workers are at the very least treated the same as those offending against members of the public. Better still, I would like to see the courts recognising offenders going to the 'next level' by attacking those attempting to enforce the law and protect the public. In cases like that I would like to see it taken in to account as an aggravating factor and double the sentence or at least add a good lump to it.
I don't think it's time to arm cops with guns, the kit they carry now is pretty much up to the job (perhaps with the addition of taser), the area that seems to be lacking currently is the dealing by the CPS or courts in terms of police assault and assaults against other emergency service workers. Wearing the uniform is not an invite for people to assault you and while people doing the job should be prepared for things like that happening, those caught attacking them should be dealt with extremely severely.
Black Flag (24/03/2009 at 18:01)
"sentencing guidelines already stipulate that the court should impose tougher sentences for offences committed against public sector workers."
To anybody who values the rule of law, that is an absolute disgrace. It shouldn't be a less serious offence if you commit assault just because the victim works in the private sector.
Angie33 , Manchester (24/03/2009 at 18:21)
Police officers nurses,council workers come from the same broken and often dishonest/nasty society as the rest of us.Young officers can do stupid like the rest of us.All attempts to pretend otherwise are going to result in lack of resect as we are seeing o a daily basis in all services.
MancLadUK, Manchester (24/03/2009 at 20:41)
What has anything that you said got to do with what's being discussed here?
The issue is about tackling those who harm police officers and other public service workers, not about criticising them. Surely you are against police officers and others such as hospital staff and paramedics being attacked while working??
MancLadUK, Manchester (24/03/2009 at 20:47)
I appreciate that I misinterpreted your previous comment. However I still don't agree with the point you make, the police do not get better protection than the public. Currently a member of the public being assaulted, even a s.39 common assault will lead to arrests being made, interviews taking place and someone spending a while in a cell. An officer suffering similar level of assault will often go nowhere near as far. It needs to be leveled at the very least.
I would also suggest that if an offender is to attack an officer and assault them while they try to arrest them or deal with them that in some ways it does require a stiffer sentence. That's not to say the fact the officer has been assaulted is any more higher rated personally than a member of the public, however the offender has assaulted an officer who is trying to deal with them for that offence. It could be that the offender has tried to evade arrest, escape from lawful custody or assist other offenders, all of which are not just a case of assaulting an officer but also offences against the public as the offenders are trying to continue their crimes. This is the point I am trying to make, if someone's willing to commit an offence and then go on to assault those upholding the law then surely you need a deterrent to make those upholding the law less of a viable option to tangle with.
If offenders knew the attempting to escape or kicking the cop arresting them would instantly earn them 12 months on top of anything else then a lot more would come without resistance and that would lead to better results for officers and the public alike.
It's not about giving officers a better level of protection that members of the public. It's about taking assaults against officers, and those working in other services, the chance to have their crimes taken seriously too and hopefully reducing them.
Black Flag (24/03/2009 at 21:21)
We need to return to Robert Peel's fundamental principle that the police are the public and the public are the police. The fact that somebody is a police officer should not buy them any special protection or result in an offence against them being treated as more severe. Any police officer who is unhappy with that is clearly opposed to the rule of law and should be dismissed.
Angie33 , Manchester (24/03/2009 at 22:02)
You may know a lot about the law/police.I know things from the other side of the fence having worked in communities for years.
I hope that answers your question.
I certainly dont believe in it being OK for anyone to attack officers or anyone else doing their job,and like officers who recieve extra punishment because they are a police officer the same should apply to the public attacking an officer trying to do a job.
Theowolfe (25/03/2009 at 10:09)
There is also a growing area of unaccountability, such as Section 59 (Police Reform Act 2004), dispersal orders, no alcohol zones and ASBOs. Is it any wonder that they are seen as partisans, agents of the State, and are treated as such?
The Police need to be brought back under control and return to the basic principles of Peel and Mayne.
alvinlwh (25/03/2009 at 14:31)