ATTACKS on police attending incidents in Barnsley are continuing to cause concern after figures revealed almost 100 people have appeared in court charged with assaulting an officer in the last year alone.
The findings, obtained by the Chronicle, show a spike in people appearing before Barnsley Magistrates’ Court in June and July where a total of 15 people were charged with assaulting a constable in the execution of their duty although statistics suggest there has been an average of five cases per week in the town for the past 12 months.
A total of 94 people, both men and women, were charged from August 2017 to August 2018 and the prosecution rate remains high, according to police, with the majority of offenders pleading guilty instead of opting for a trial.
Barnsley-based Chief Inspector Chris Foster, who has had his leg and wrist broken in the past whilst trying to arrest people, told the Chronicle assaults on his staff were ‘regular occurrences’.
“It can happen at any time it’s not just the usual drunken behaviour that leads to an officer being assaulted,” he added. “We don’t know what we’re walking into whether it’s a domestic or an issue at a bar in the town centre.”
Recently, Chf Insp Foster highlighted the problem on Twitter following an officer being kicked and spat at by a person in drink in Barnsley Interchange last month a venue that’s been notorious in previous years for antisocial behaviour.
“No-one said it was going to be an easy job and no-one expects it to be without confrontation at times, but we shouldn’t expect it as part of our role,” he said.
“My tweet was to raise awareness that my officers deal with this kind of incident day in, day out.
“It wasn’t to garner sympathy or elevate them to the status of heroes but one which hopefully will result in a small change of minds.
“Such violence can equally likely be encountered at 7am attending someone’s home, as it is when policing a football match or in the town centre after a few hours’ drinking.
“We are trained to deal with it and use a variety of techniques to deal with it, ranging from our mouths by speaking to people to, our pepper spray and handcuffs.”
One issue particularly associated with drunk and disorderly behaviour in the town centre has been dealing with groups who have become involved when they have witnessed a skirmish between an offender and officers.
Chf Insp Foster said: “Often the original crime perpetrated by the offender is unknown to the crowd and the techniques used by officers may look overly aggressive, but the officers need to be able to use force, as appropriate, to make the arrest and protect other people.
“I do not come to work expecting to be assaulted, battered and bruised. It may present itself to us on occasion but we should work hard to reduce it and ensure those who participate are dealt with properly, by the courts and in the correct manner.”
