Question reference: S6W-01742
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 22 July 2021
-
Current status: Answered by Keith Brown on 30 July 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider doubling the maximum sentence for assaults on emergency service workers, including the police force.
Answer
No-one should be the victim of abuse or violence while at work. Assaults on emergency service workers and police officers are despicable and the Scottish Government fully supports courts having their current extensive powers to deal robustly with perpetrators.
The maximum sentence for an assault on emergency workers including the police is life imprisonment. This is the most severe form of penalty available under the criminal law and is available under the common law of assault.
In addition, there are specific offences in the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 which also provide protection for emergency service workers and police officers.
The combination of these laws provide full protection under the law with the independent court deciding what an appropriate sentence is in a given case.
We continue to encourage all organisations to support staff who experience violence in the workplace including reporting such incidents for appropriate action to be taken by Police Scotland.
The criminal law is always kept under review to assess whether changes can be made to improve how it operates. In the context of maximum penalties for assaults on emergency workers being life imprisonment, the Scottish Government has no current plans to change the laws in this area given the extensive powers courts have.