PSA President Nick Smart has commented on the continued scenes of violence and disorder occurring across the country
“I am appalled and disgusted by the continued displays of violence and disorder that have been seen across the country in recent days.
“Our police service is well experienced at dealing with protests, facilitating the right to peaceful demonstrations and free speech, working with communities to enable this. What we have seen in areas such as Rotherham, Hull, Plymouth and many more was not this. It was mindless violence from people clearly intent on hurting others and damaging communities and property.
"It is the police that are tasked with responding to this mindless aggression – men and women of all ranks who go to work to help and protect others, being subjected to physical violence, with many of them sustaining serious injuries as a result. It is simply unacceptable, and I am pleased that our government and our criminal justice partners are supporting police with a clear commitment to bringing those responsible to justice.
“Every time police are called to deal with large-scale incidents such as these, it has a resulting impact on other areas of police business. Whilst these criminals are damaging towns and cities, threatening others and attacking police, our forces have to move police officers away from other demand, slowing down other critical areas of business. However, chief constables will reviewing staffing to ensure that the impact of service delivery is as minimal as possible, as daily business must continue.
“I am appalled and disgusted by the continued displays of violence and disorder that have been seen across the country in recent days.
“Our police service is well experienced at dealing with protests, facilitating the right to peaceful demonstrations and free speech, working with communities to enable this. What we have seen in areas such as Rotherham, Hull, Plymouth and many more was not this. It was mindless violence from people clearly intent on hurting others and damaging communities and property.
"It is the police that are tasked with responding to this mindless aggression – men and women of all ranks who go to work to help and protect others, being subjected to physical violence, with many of them sustaining serious injuries as a result. It is simply unacceptable, and I am pleased that our government and our criminal justice partners are supporting police with a clear commitment to bringing those responsible to justice.
“Every time police are called to deal with large-scale incidents such as these, it has a resulting impact on other areas of police business. Whilst these criminals are damaging towns and cities, threatening others and attacking police, our forces have to move police officers away from other demand, slowing down other critical areas of business. However, chief constables will reviewing staffing to ensure that the impact of service delivery is as minimal as possible, as daily business must continue.
“Whatever has caused this – political ideologies or disinformation being spread online, it must stop. Along with every member of the police family, I call for communities, tech companies and those in power to come together against these displays of aggression, and to challenge false information that could be inflaming this.
“I’d like to thank every police officer that is working so hard to protect their communities and to stop these acts of violence. Anyone being sent into these situations does so with bravery, not knowing how their shift will end, and this should not be underestimated. We need to call for calm, to come together to identify those responsible and support those who have already been so seriously affected.”