“Appalling” new figures show that 79 people were charged with using fireworks to attack emergency workers in the last two years alone.
The data, obtained following a Freedom of Information request by the Scottish Conservatives, has prompted the party to renew its call for sentences to be doubled for those convicted of assaulting emergency staff.
The stats underline the extent of the violence faced by key workers in and around Bonfire night – an “unacceptable” reality highlighted again last Thursday, when two police officers were injured and buses attacked by thugs in the Niddrie area of Edinburgh.
The Scottish Conservatives have long called for the maximum sentence for attacking emergency staff to be doubled in a bid to clamp down on the rise in anti-social behaviour towards key workers.
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr MSP said: “These appalling statistics highlight the mindless violence our brave emergency workers are being subjected to during firework season.
“Thursday night’s events in Edinburgh were another graphic illustration of this. Overstretched police officers should never have to accept being routinely targeted by dangerous thugs on and around Bonfire Night – or at any time of the year.
“The only way to crack down on this unacceptable behaviour is to have a proper, meaningful deterrent.
“The Scottish Conservatives have long called for double-length sentences for assaults on our emergency workers – and now, more than ever, these are needed.
“The sad truth is that criminals have been emboldened by the SNP’s soft-touch justice system, while their slashing of police numbers to the lowest level in 17 years makes it even harder for officers to take back control of flashpoint situations when hordes of yobs terrorise neighbourhoods.”
Notes:
There were 79 charges recorded where a statutory aggravator for assaulting an emergency worker with a firework was added in the last two years. For 2022-23 and 2023-24, 28 charges and 51 charges respectively were recorded for a total of 79 charges across the two years. These were classified as a charge reported to COPFS containing the aggravation of attacking an emergency worker with a firework or pyrotechnic article. (COPFS FOI Response, 16 October 2024, Attached).