Four police officers were assaulted in Brighton and Hove on Christmas Day, Sussex Police said today (Saturday 26 December).
The force said: “Assaulting a police officer is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
“This is the message being issued by Sussex Police after a significant number of officers were assaulted on duty on Christmas Day.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Rayland said: “Over the past 24 hours, we’ve seen at least 16 police officers assaulted while on duty across Sussex. This is completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated.
“Each one of these officers has sacrificed spending Christmas with their loved ones to protect the public and catch criminals, only to be on the receiving end of offences committed by a small number of individuals.
“We are fortunate to have committed police officers who signed up to protect vulnerable people and make our towns and communities a safer place.
“They did not sign up to be assaulted, insulted or abused.
“While the vast majority of people in Sussex are fully supportive of our officers and our force, there is a small minority who seem to think the law does not apply to them.
“We know things are tough at the moment, especially during the festive season, but we’re all in this together.
“Whatever the circumstances, there is absolutely no excuse to assault a police officer, and anyone found guilty of committing such an offence will be dealt with robustly.”
Sussex Police added: “Assaults on officers on Christmas Day included spitting, kicking, punching and biting, while one officer suffered a dislocated shoulder.
“Of the 16 incidents recorded, 12 occurred in West Sussex and four occurred in Brighton and Hove.”
The trouble is they are not dealt with “robustly”, but as if they are little children who just need a ticking off. It must be infuriating for police officers to find that our totally-out-of-touch judges and mnagistrates are handing out the most feeble sentences for serious crimes.
Hi it’s about time they got serious sentences instead of a tap on the wrists. I was on the ambulance service years ago and it even started then these people want putting away for a long time what is wrong with these cretins these people are trying to help them and putting their own life’s at risk for god sake majistrates open your eyes