Assault on Emergency Workers Solicitors

The offence of Assault on An Emergency Worker is prosecuted under Section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018. If you have recently been charged with this offence and require expert private criminal defence representation in Court, call our specialist criminal law solicitors on 03308189825 or complete our Contact Form for a call back.

This is a serious type of assault, which may also be referred to on a charge sheet as ‘Assault by beating of an emergency worker’ and refer to Section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

This offence came into force on 13^th November 2018, prior to that date Defendants were prosecuted under Section 39 Common Assault, which attracts a maximum sentence of 6 months imprisonment however, this offence can attract up to 12 months imprisonment, a fine or both.

Recent years have seen an increase in assaults on emergency workers, with 26,000 assaults on police officers in the past year and over 17,000 on NHS staff. Assaults on prison officers rose by 70% in the 3 years to 2017, with an 18% increase experienced by firefighters in the past 2 years.  

Who is an Emergency Worker?

Section 3(1) of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 defines an emergency worker as:

• (a)a constable;
• (b)a person (other than a constable) who has the powers of a constable or is otherwise employed for police purposes or is engaged to provide services for police purposes;
• (c)a National Crime Agency officer;
• (d)a prison officer;
• (e)a person (other than a prison officer) employed or engaged to carry out functions in a custodial institution of a corresponding kind to those carried out by a prison officer;
• (f)a prisoner custody officer, so far as relating to the exercise of escort functions;
• (g)a custody officer, so far as relating to the exercise of escort functions;
• (h)a person employed for the purposes of providing, or engaged to provide, fire services or fire and rescue services;
• (i)a person employed for the purposes of providing, or engaged to provide, search services or rescue services (or both);
• (j)a person employed for the purposes of providing, or engaged to provide—
• (i)NHS health services, or
• (ii)services in the support of the provision of NHS health services, and whose general activities in doing so involve face to face interaction with individuals receiving the services or with other members of the public.

Aggravating Factors

Aggravating factors make an offence more serious and therefore increase the chance of a prison and the severity of the sentence.

The following will be regarded as aggravating features that the Court will take into consideration if a person pleads guilty or is found guilty following trial:

• Spitting or coughing
• Victim isolated and/or had no opportunity to escape situation
• Presence of children
• Gratuitous degradation of victim
• Any steps taken to prevent the victim reporting an incident, obtaining assistance and/or from assisting or supporting the prosecution
• Commission of offence whilst under the influence of alcohol/drugs
• Offence committed whilst on licence or subject to post sentence supervision
• Failure to comply with current court orders

Funding a Criminal Prosecution

If you are facing a criminal investigation or prosecution, you should seek out the very best lawyers to defend your case, so that you have the best chance of a successful outcome. Our solicitors and barristers are highly experienced and recognised nationally for successfully defending a significant number of high-profile criminal prosecutions throughout England and Wales.

As a specialist private funded criminal defence law firm, we represent clients that are in a financial position to fund their cases privately, as a result our clients do not qualify for Public Funding (Legal Aid) and for that reason we do not undertake any work on Legal Aid.

Our Private Legal Defence Lawyers accept new cases on a Fixed Fee basis, ensuring that our clients know exactly how much their case will cost from the outset.

Private legal representation is not only reserved for the wealthy, many of our clients are ordinary people that require a robust defence team to provide them with the best chance of protecting their reputation and career. If you require more information on the cost of defending your case, speak to one of our solicitors for a free no obligation fee estimate.

Advantages of Paying Privately for a Specialist Criminal Defence Lawyer

1. Expertise: There are very limited number of law firms throughout the country that only accept criminal cases on a private fee-paying basis, these lawyers will usually only accept such cases because they possess superior legal knowledge and expertise.
2. Communication: Paying for legal representation privately will usually result in better and more frequent communication with your Solicitor and Barrister. Lawyers paid privately will usually respond to e-mails and phone calls quickly.
3. Preparation: The amount of time a lawyer spends preparing a case and considering the evidence will have an impact upon the result. Paying privately will ensure that the lawyer can spend enough time on case preparation, which will have a positive impact on the overall outcome of the case. We prepare thoroughly for each case.
4. Service: Clients that instruct lawyers via private funds will receive a substantially better service than those using legal aid.   
5. Quality: The overall quality of legal representation from private client solicitors is significantly superior.
6. Consistency: We provide all our clients with consistency and continuity, the lawyer dealing with your case will be the same person from start to finish.