It’s been 46 days since ASPS and the SPF launched their “Assault Police? No Early Release!” campaign, which means that here in Scotland in that time approximately 460 assaults on police officers will have occurred. As the public prepare for the peace of Christmas and the warmth of family, police officers are preparing for a deluge of incidents at one of our busiest times of the year.
With that upsurge in demand comes a rise in violence and too often now that is directed at police officers. Injured officers have to return home to their families and answer their kids questions about why people want to hurt their Mum or Dad, or from their spouse about whether the job is worth the cost.
I have joined SPF Chair David Threadgold in taking this message to our politicians. Our plea, as you know, is that offenders who use violence against police officers are considered ineligible for early release, providing both protection to officers and the public and a preventative, deterrent effect on those who might consider violence against officers who are simply doing their job and executing their duty.
While this safeguard should have been written in from the outset, I am encouraged by the positive, open posture I have been met with. I have asked Angela Constance, out Cabinet Secretary for Justice to consider making this part of her party’s manifesto commitment for the Holyrood Election next year and she has committed to giving that due consideration.
The response from the Scottish Conservatives and the Liberal Democrat’s has been even more positive, with assurances that they would support this approach. And this week I laid out the case to one of Scottish Labour’s Justice team, Pauline McNeil MSP, who again committed to taking the initiative to her party leadership for consideration.
I hope this indicates that a consensus is possible, as protecting our colleagues, those who step into harm’s way on our orders, shouldn’t be a party political issue, it should be a matter of social responsibility for all those who believe in the rule of law and a civil society founded on rules-based order.