People who spit on police officers could face jail
SCUM who spit at our cops would be put behind bars for up to 14 years under tough new laws to crack down on the “filthy attacks”.
And there would be mandatory testing of offenders for infectious diseases.
It comes as shock new figures reveal more than 1000 police officers are “exposed to bodily fluids” on the job every year.
The Police Association said officers spat on had to put their lives on hold for months to ensure they hadn’t contracted diseases.
“I know officers who have stopped being intimate with their partners or stopped trying for a baby while they waited,” president Scott Weber said.
Police Minister Troy Grant last night confirmed to The Saturday Telegraph he had “prepared” a cabinet proposal for a “new offence with tough penalties for spitting on officers and a mandatory testing regimen for offenders who spit”.
The former police officer (left) slammed spitting as a “particularly filthy form of assault”.
“It puts an officer’s life on hold while they anxiously await test results and can transmit serious diseases that can become a life sentence,” Mr Grant said.
In a submission to the Inquiry into Violence Against Emergency Services Personnel, the association pushed for a maximum 14-year jail sentence for anyone who intentionally or accidentally exposed an officer to bodily fluids. Mr Weber said NSW laws were behind other states.
“It’s a major issue. Most officers I know would much rather be punched, hit or shoved than spit on,” he said.
Police statistics compiled for The Saturday Telegraph reveal there were 1077 cases where officers were exposed to bodily fluids on the job in 2015-16. The number of incidents had jumped 32 per cent since 2011, when there were 811 cases.
About 50 officers are also being bitten each year and 20 exposed to needle-stick injuries. After 18 years as a police officer Oliver Behrens has lost track of how many times he’s been spat on.
“I’ve been spat on, attacked by someone bleeding head to toe, bitten and scratched,” said Mr Behrens, who is an executive member of the association.
At the start of this year, Mr Behrens, 42, had to wait three months to find out if he had contracted a disease from a bleeding drug addict who scratched him when he saved her from jumping off a balcony. Mr Behrens said it would have been quicker if new laws were adopted.ç
People who spit on police officers could face jail under new laws.
