Darroch Ball
Leader Sensible Sentencing Trust
Information
Opinion
There are very few professions where, every day, one puts oneself directly in harm’s way for the sole purpose of serving and protecting others.
There is a need for a law that protects a group of people who fall into that category – our First Responders – our police, paramedics and corrections officers. Their day job is focused on protecting us. It is clear we need to do a better job of protecting them.
There needs to be a minimum mandatory six-month prison sentence for serious assaults on our first responders or corrections officers.
But it goes further than just a mandatory minimum sentence – it would send a message that society doesn’t accept that our First Responders should expect abuse or assaults when they serve and protect us.
There was a time when no one would ever lay a finger on a police officer – not because of better education, living standards, or less poverty – but because there was a sense of respect felt for them.
It seems that respect has vanished. Over the past few decades there has been a brewing culture of contempt for people in uniform. It is clear we need to do a better job of protecting them.
When they perform their duties they now have an expectation that abuse is “just part of the job”. Instead of respect, their uniforms are now treated as targets by these people who harbour contempt for our officers and our system. Emphasis on the “our”. After all, they protect and serve society on our behalf, so any attack on our First Responders is an attack on us.
This kind of law would not stop every assault on First Responders, nor would that be the intent. What it does do is send a message that we value the safety of these people and will no longer put up with this culture of violence against them.
This problem has gone on for too long and is seen as the norm. Many people today are surprised to hear how often police officers are assaulted. It also surprises many that our paramedics are routinely abused and assaulted every single week.
Our corrections officers are now targets in our prisons. These are prisons where we detain violent criminals to keep them away from our society but we expect our corrections officers to deal with them day in and day out.
Fundamentally we need a law that focuses on consistency and certainty. Consistency in dealing with offenders and creating certainty for our police, paramedics, and corrections officers that, if they are assaulted, justice will be served.
Right now sentences are not consistent. Clearly, our current laws and justice system are failing.
Several Australian states and the UK have similar provisions for a minimum mandatory prison sentence for attacking First Responders.
This law works because it lands on the side of the victim and not on the side of the offender. The skin in the game is with our First Responders and corrections officers.
We need a change from our current “offender-centric” justice system to a “victim-centric” justice system. We need this legislation for its sole purpose: to protect the victims of violent assaults.
We need a law to protect our protectors.
