division_name: Community Pharmacies &#8212; Police Officer Safety
motion: <p class="indent" pid="b956.1/2" pwmotiontext="yes">That this House notes with concern the estimated 23,000 assaults on police officers in England and Wales each year; and calls on the Government to implement statutory guidance on sentencing uniformly across the country which reflects the seriousness of the issue, to accurately record the number of assaults on police officers in England and Wales and, noting the fall in numbers of police officers by 20,000 since 2010, to ensure that police officer numbers and funding are not cut further.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="b960.0/2" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;that any assault on a police officer is unacceptable and welcomes the work of the independent Sentencing Council in producing guidelines that specifically highlight the increased seriousness of an offence committed against anyone providing a public service; further welcomes the Government&#8217;s commitment to accurately record the number of assaults on police officers in England and Wales to better understand the scale of this issue; and further notes that the Government has protected police spending in real terms over the Spending Review period.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="b967.2/2" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;are more often on their own dealing with these situations with back up miles away and with no TASER resources anywhere near them&#8221;.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="b974.0/3" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;We can&#8217;t let them win.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="b974.0/5" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;That&#8217;s not who we are, or what we believe.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="b974.0/8" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;We have two hands, one to help ourselves and one to help others.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="b974.0/11" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us.&#8221;&#8212;[Official Report, <phrase class="date" code="2016-06-03">3 June</phrase> 2015; Vol. 596, c. 675.]</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="b980.1/5" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;Historical inquiries are not archaeological excavations&#8230; We must never underestimate how the poison of decades-old misdeeds seeps down through the years and is just as toxic today as it was then. That&#8217;s why difficult truths, however unpalatable they may be, must be confronted head on&#8221;.</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="b986.0/7" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;According to my children he is the clumsiest dad ever, as we have had to tell them &#8216;dad fell over a bin chasing someone,&#8217; &#8216;dad walked into a cupboard door in the station,&#8217; &#8216;dad caught himself on the police car door.&#8217; I am tired of seeing my husband come home injured and having to lie to my children to about how he sustained his injuries. I worry every time he is late home and grateful every time he returns home safely.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="b994.0/3" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;understand that a police officer is to be respected and is there to serve the community.&#8221;&#8212;[Official Report, <phrase class="date" code="2016-10-11">11 October</phrase> 2016; Vol. 615, c. 283.]</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="b995.1/4" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;Along with every officer that I know; I joined the Police to help people, even those people who hate the Police&#8212;we are there for everyone. I&#8217;m now surrounded by demoralised colleagues desperately trying to put a brave face on things, but completely overstretched and unable to carry out their jobs to the level that they would like to. This is not an accident; it is a political choice and one which I am concerned will lead to the injury and death of officers and members of the public.&#8221;</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="b997.2/9" pwmotiontext="yes">&#8220;worked with police forces to try and improve the data further&#8221;,</p>
  
  <p class="italic" pid="b1001.3/5" pwmotiontext="yes">The House divided:</p>
  
  <p pid="b1001.3/6" pwmotiontext="yes">Ayes 207, Noes 288.</p>