POLICE FEDERATIONThere is a war of attrition between this government and the police. As in most conflicts of this nature there are extremists on both sides and atrocities of a non attributable nature are committed in what were once smoke filled backrooms of pubs or buildings of a grander design. Police and government press officers are not under employed.

Police officers by the very nature of the job they do are more likely than the general population to suffer willfully imposed injury as they do their normal day`s work. Thankfully we still live in a society where the murder of a police officer is usually the leading item in any news broadcast. This realisation however should not blind us to the failings, some would say the many failings, in our police officers, their supervision and their regulatory provisions. Indeed the secrecy surrounding so many cases of police misconduct can be seen as a self inflicted indictment of an organisation which is still trying to hide its dirty washing whilst simultaneously demonstrating its metaphorical frilly undies in the name of assaults on police in the course of their duty.

There are currently, as far as I am aware, no statistics published by the Home Office or Ministry of Justice detailing the numbers convicted of Assault on a Police Constable in Execution of his Duty {Police Act 1996(section 89)}. This is a summary only matter with a maximum sentence of Level 5 fine (£5,000) and/or 26 weeks` custody. The Guideline for this offence at Category 3 [lowest level of harm and culpability] has a starting point of a fine equal to a week`s wages with a range from half of that to one and half week`s wages. Therefore it is not unreasonable that after such a conviction a fine of £150 (plus any costs etc) is appropriate. However once the Police Federation take an interest blame is immediately attached to the magistrates for imposing what they consider a totally inappropriate sentence.

The latest unofficial figures of the number of police officers assaulted on duty for 2009/10 in England and Wales is 363 seriously injured with 6,413 suffering minor or no injury. During this period police were at a strength of 147,000. So 4.6% suffered an assault. In view of the job they signed up to do this does not seem to be a cause for concern. Equally although magistrates must follow the guidelines and explain in open court reasons for any departure from them for police to continually blame us for what they regard as lenient sentences is a mantra which is now just way beyond its sell by date.

Perhaps somebody in the Police Federation or the blogging community will take note but I doubt it.