Spike in police assaults and ‘weaponised’ coronavirus attacks on West Yorkshire officers

Force figures show 160 assaults took place in March, including 25 incidents of officers being spat at and 14 incidents where they were bitten.

The figure is higher than in March 2019 despite lockdown measures being imposed for half of the month.

Six Covid-19 related incidents, all assaults by spitting, were made towards officers in the last week of March when specific coronavirus-related assaults were first recorded.

The West Yorkshire Police Federation said these figures caused 'grave concern' and called for harsher sentences to be handed down during the pandemic.

There have been reports across England and Wales of officers being subjected to ‘weaponised’ coronavirus assaults, where people have coughed on them or spat at them and claimed they had the virus.

A shocking incident in Dewsbury in which an officer was coughed on and spat at by a large crowd of people prompted a strong response from the federation.

West Yorkshire Police Federation Chairman Brian Booth said: “It’s of grave concern that my colleagues, both police officers and police staff have had a spike of assaults in relation to being spat at, especially at a time when this particular assault could have a deadly consequence and a devastating effect on front line resilience.

“There is some good news in that the Sentencing Guidelines Council has published its latest guidance around sentencing for assaulting Emergency Workers with much stronger sentences for those committing this type of offence.

“In Halifax, an offender that coughed and threatened one of our colleagues with Covid-19 was fast-tracked through the court system and imprisoned for 12 weeks.

“Although the sentence could have been heavier, it’s a step in the right direction.”