Coronavirus: More than 300 police and NHS workers assaulted in one month of lockdown

Director of public prosecutions says coronavirus-related incidents are being prioritised amid court closures

Deliberately coughing on police or NHS staff can be charged as assault on an emergency worker (AP)

More than 300 NHS workers and police officers were attacked in just one month of the coronavirus lockdown, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has revealed.

Max Hill QC, the director of public prosecutions, said prosecutions for 313 assaults on emergency workers had been completed during April.

Giving evidence remotely to parliament’s Justice Committee, he said these were among a total of 660 coronavirus-related charges in the month against 424 people.

There were also prosecutions for 142 incidents of criminal damage, 99 public order offences, 62 common assaults and 44 shoplifting offences.

Mr Hill said some defendants had been charged with multiple crimes, adding: “It might start with shoplifting and end with an assault on an emergency worker … we’ve identified particularly appalling conduct towards police, paramedics and nurses.”

The statistics do not cover cases awaiting trial or sentencing, so the true number of attacks is likely to be far higher.

Separate figures released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) showed that reported assaults on emergency workers rose by 14 per cent in the month to 10 May, compared to the same period in 2019.

Police in England and Wales recorded a total of coronavirus-related incidents, including where people were told to go home and reports of lockdown breaches.

The CPS previously announced that it would prosecute coughing and spitting on police, NHS and key workers during the coronavirus outbreak.

The crime of assault on an emergency worker, which came into force in 2018, covers attacks on police, prison officers, firefighters, paramedics and other NHS staff and is punishable by up to a year in prison.

Mr Hill said a “very high conviction rate” of around 97 per cent was being seen for coronavirus-related crimes because of a large number of guilty pleas.

The CPS has introduced a specific “Covid-19 monitoring flag” on its database to monitor related crimes that do not fall under the Coronavirus Act and Health Protection Regulations.

Cases can include coughing on emergency workers, assaults related to stockpiling in supermarkets, scams selling non-existent hand sanitiser or masks and hate crimes against people “based on the presumption that their country of origin is responsible” for the outbreak.

Mr Hill told MPs that all coronavirus-related crimes were being prioritised during the lockdown, which initially forced more than half the courts in England and Wales to close.

Under interim charging guidance released by the CPS, domestic abuse cases, violence and other serious crime are also being fast-tracked, but other cases are being delayed or changed so that partial guilty pleas can be accepted.

“We are all conscious that with the partial closure of courts and gradual return of trials it’s necessary to do what we can to manage the flow of cases,” Mr Hill said.

“It is prioritisation – it is not an abandonment or move away from an interest in certain areas of crime … in the context of serious crime I do not believe there will be any significant difference apart from timing.”

The normal time limits for cases reaching court have been extended, with some first hearings now not scheduled for 84 days after a charge.

Victims’ advocates have warned that long delays may cause complainants, particularly in rape cases, to drop out of proceedings.

Mr Hill said the changes aimed to ease a mounting backlog of criminal cases, which stood at 37,400 in the crown court even before coronavirus.

“In normal running the backlog stands at something like 37,000, and the completion monthly rate runs at around 2,400,” he added.

“It is an inescapable fact that with every month that goes by where the system is constrained, we are likely to see the backlog going up.”

Trials in crown courts have started to resume under new social distancing protocols, and the government has pledged to increase court sitting days.

Following a push for the increased use of out-of-court disposals, like fines and cautions, for less serious crimes to avoid the need for court hearings, Mr Hill said he supported “sensible conversations involving police and prosecutors as to whether it is always necessary to charge”.

He added: “A lot of the volume at the bottom end of criminality is driven by the police and they make responsible decisions about whether to charge or not without referring to the CPS.

“I do think it’s appropriate in these circumstances for the police to look at what is the necessary outcome in these cases.”

He insisted that no type of crime would be “decriminalised”.

Mr Hill said that while overall crime had fallen during the lockdown, the CPS was “starting to see” an increase in domestic abuse cases.

“There are certain types of crime happening less frequently because of lockdown, but there are indications that there are some areas where we are going to have to maintain our focus and vigilance, and domestic abuse is right up there,” he added.

Mr Hill also predicted a rise in people being charged for refusing to pay fines for alleged lockdown breaches.

He said the full impact could not be predicted as people have a month to pay before proceedings start, and the “expectation is that the vast majority will pay”.

A CPS review of police prosecutions under new laws found that while the majority of charges under the Health Protection Regulations were correct, all 44 under the separate Coronavirus Act were unlawful.

Mr Hill said supervision had increased to ensure the correct laws were used, but admitted that many people charged under the Coronavirus Act did not have defence representation.

“Applying those mechanisms, we do believe the situation will improve,” Mr Hill said.

“Although there’s been absolutely understandable public interest in this area, when you look at the figures the failures are low in number and they’ve been gripped very quickly.”