Chief constable speaks out after ten officers assaulted in 48 hours

The Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary Mark Roberts has spoken out after ten police officers and PCSOs were assaulted in just 48 hours.

Between Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th April, ten police officers and PCSOs were assaulted in various locations while responding to incidents across the County.

These included incidents where officers were punched, pushed, kicked in the face and even bitten.

Thankfully, none of the officers involved sustained any serious injuries. However, the outcome could have been far worse, and the force will be pursuing charges against all those involved.

Cheshire Constabulary Chief Constable Mark Roberts, said:

“While the nature of policing inevitably requires officers to deal with violent and challenging situations, that does not mean that our officers can be used as punchbags.

“Nobody should have to come to work and expect that they will be verbally or physically assaulted.

“Sadly, over the last weekend alone we’ve seen ten police officers and PCSOs assaulted while simply trying to do their job, and unfortunately this figure is not unusual.

“Assaults can often lead to officers having to take time off work, which not only has a detrimental effect on the resourcing of incidents, but it can also increase pressures on other officers too, due to the additional responsibilities they have to take on to ensure that we meet the needs of the public.

“I want to send a clear message that we’re committed to doing all we can to keep Cheshire safe, however, assaults on our officers are not acceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Assaulting a police officer is a criminal offence that is punishable by up to two years in prison.