Top cops Graham Ashton and Wayne Gatt warn about the lack of respect for Victoria Police
Fed up police bosses say a kind of “hatred” and lack of respect for police has seen thousands of frontline officers brutally attacked every year. These are the faces of shocking violence.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Victoria’s top cop and the police union boss have united to battle the appalling lack of respect being shown to their frontline troops.
More than 3000 Victoria Police officers are attacked each year, with a spike in gang bashings and car rammings, police figures reveal.
Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton and Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt are today joining with the Herald Sun to launch the Respect The Badge campaign.
MORE: THE COPS ATTACKED ON THE JOB
“Nobody goes to work expecting to be hit, kicked, spat on and sworn at,” Mr Ashton said yesterday.
“But those things — and worse — are happening all too frequently to police officers.”
Sergeant Gatt said the judiciary was not doing enough to deter attacks on police.
Judges and magistrates were instead contributing to the lack of respect for the blue uniform by handing out lenient sentences, he added.
The moment violence and abuse levelled at police officers stops shocking Victorians, the community is in trouble, Mr Ashton and Mr Gatt said.
Recent violent attacks, like that seen in St Kilda earlier this year, as well as ramming incidents have increased to a critical level in recent years.
“We have an unacceptably high level of violence being afflicted upon our police who are out their simply doing their jobs,” chief commissioner Graham Ashton said.
“We’re encouraging respect for our police officers who are doing a very difficult job, day in and day out.”
Ramming of police cars has become so prevalent that officers are now being specially trained to deal with the threat.
Officers are also being abused and spat on every day.
One in five police officers face violence while working as a result of the scourge.
“It’s something that should outrage all of us,” the police union’s Wayne Gatt said.
“We should challenge it each and every time it happens.
“Those people that put on a uniform in service of others need to be supported and need to be protected.”
He reminded bystanders to intervene if they see officers being attacked or abused.
Both men also issued passionate appeals to parents to do all they could to instil respect for police in their children from an early age.
Mr Ashton believes more young people in particular are prepared to resort to harming police because they have been desensitised to violence through exposure to graphic video games and TV.
“We are very grateful to the Herald Sun for highlighting this lack-of-respect issue because its reach within the community is significant,” Mr Ashton said.
“An attack on any police officer is an attack on society and the wellbeing of society. It is an attack on the community.”
Mr Ashton and Sgt Gatt singled out the rapid growth in the number of incidents where offenders used cars as a weapon against police.
“The ramming of police cars with vehicles starkly epitomises the brutal lengths offenders are now prepared to go to,” Sgt Gatt said.
“This is not a tussle in the street. This is using a car as a weapon in a way that, at best, can injure and, at worst, could kill. That’s more than a lack of respect for police — it is at times hatred of us, and it is a significant problem.”
Mr Ashton said his officers had reported an increase in the number of gang attacks on police.
“The behaviour in crowds is something I want to highlight,” he said.
“What we are seeing is when people get together in larger groups, their behaviour deteriorates.
“People who might behave respectfully in a one-on-one situation with police can change when there are 20 or 30 people around them.”
There was a shocking example of that group behaviour this year when the term “ragdolling” became widely known, after a thug was accused of repeatedly smashing the head of a fallen officer into the road.
MORE:
PROSECUTOR SLAMS JUDGES OVER SOFT SENTENCING
LENIENCY INSULTS OUR EMERGENCY SERVICE WORKERS
EMERGENCY SERVICE BASHERS AVOID JAIL
Two officers had responded to a routine call for help for a vulnerable person who had been assaulted.
The officers made an arrest and were then allegedly attacked by an angry mob.
Both left the scene in an ambulance.
“Both members are on the long road to recovery … one is still not well enough to return to work yet,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
“Management continues to monitor both these members.”
The Andrews Government introduced legislation last September that requires magistrates and judges to jail offenders who injure emergency workers for a mandatory minimum of six months.
“We expect the first few cases to start rolling through within weeks,” Sgt Gatt said.
“What we want to see now is what the outcomes are.”