More than 20 emergency workers are assaulted every day while on the line of duty

More than 20 emergency workers are assaulted every day in the line of duty, figures reveal.

In a depressing snapshot of Wild West Britain, there were more than 4,000 attacks on police officers, hospital staff and prison officers in just six months.

The attacks took place after the introduction of new laws in November which were supposed to protect members of the emergency services.

The maximum sentence for common assaults on emergency staff was increased from six months to a year under the Assaults on Emergency Workers Act.

But last night critics said the legislation has done little to stem the rising tide of violence against emergency staff.

Boris Johnson is under pressure to tackle the spiralling levels of violence gripping the country.

The Prime Minister has promised ‘tough sentencing for those who carry knives’, while Scotland Yard plans to give Tasers to hundreds more officers.

But PC Outten’s commanding officer, Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Tucker, has said the attack was ‘a symptom of people having less fear of the police’. 

In a depressing snapshot of Wild West Britain, there were more than 4,000 attacks on police officers, hospital staff and prison officers in just six months. The attacks took place after the introduction of new laws in November which were supposed to protect members of the emergency services [File photo]

And Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said the figures show that the new law designed to protect emergency workers is not working. He said: ‘Judges are not using their sentencing powers to the full.

‘What we want to see is judges handing down the maximum and saying, “you have attacked an officer and this is what you are getting”.

‘It is the same with carrying a knife which has a maximum sentence of four years. How many people have ever been given that?’

Statistics from 31 police forces show that there were 4,129 attacks on emergency staff in six months. In reality, the number of assaults is likely to be significantly higher because 14 constabularies failed to provide figures.

Attacks in London account for 34 per cent of all assaults on emergency workers, with 843 men and 243 women targeted. In 197 cases the gender was not recorded. 

Of the 1,283 assault victims, 1,081 were police officers. Shockingly, nine children aged between 10 and 17 were arrested by the Met for assaulting a constable.

In the Manchester area, 161 emergency staff were assaulted in six months. These include a police officer who was twice head-butted in the face by a 12-year-old boy and another who was kicked in the face by a girl of the same age. 

Another wrapped a dog chain around his fist and punched a police officer in the face, while a fourth threatened a constable with a kitchen knife.

In Sussex, 288 men and 116 women were attacked while on duty. Three of the attackers were under 18 and four were over 60.

In West Yorkshire, a 41-year-old female nurse was attending an emergency call at a home when she was targeted by a driver who deliberately ran over her foot.

Attacks in London account for 34 per cent of all assaults on emergency workers, with 843 men and 243 women targeted. In 197 cases the gender was not recorded. A stock photo is pictured above [File photo]

Criminals received a variety of punishments ranging from verbal cautions to suspended prison sentences, figures show.

Daniel Keevill was one of the first criminals to be prosecuted under the new legislation. 

He punched A&E doctor David Connor at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth in November and was given a suspended prison sentence of four months and ordered to pay costs of £300 after admitting assault.

It was one of 315 which took place on emergency staff in Hampshire over six months. Dr Connor said hospital staff are subjected to verbal abuse ‘on a nightly basis’.

Body-worn cameras could be used across the NHS in a bid to stem the rising violence.

Meanwhile, Home Office figures show that attacks on police rose by 20 per cent over the last two years, and that on average one police officer is attacked every 20 minutes.