Emergency worker

See below for the statutory provisions.

• Note the requirement for the court to state that the offence has been so aggravated.
• Note this statutory factor only applies to certain violent or sexual offences as listed below. 
• For other offences the factor ‘Victim was providing a public service or performing a public duty at the time of the offence’ can be applied where relevant.

The Sentencing Code states:

67 Assaults on emergency workers

(1) This section applies where a court is considering the seriousness of an offence listed in subsection (3). (2) If the offence was committed against an emergency worker acting in the exercise of functions as such a worker, the court—

(a) must treat that fact as an aggravating factor, and

(b) must state in open court that the offence is so aggravated.

(3) The offences referred to in subsection (1) are—

(a) an offence under any of the following provisions of the Offences against the Person Act 1861—

(i) section 16 (threats to kill);

(ii) section 18 (wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm);

(iii) section 20 (malicious wounding);

(iv) section 23 (administering poison etc);

(v) section 28 (causing bodily injury by explosives);

(vi) section 29 (using explosives etc with intent to do grievous bodily harm);

(vii) section 47 (assault occasioning actual bodily harm);

(b) an offence under section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sexual assault);

(c) manslaughter;

(d) kidnapping;

(e) an inchoate offence in relation to any of the preceding offences.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2) the circumstances in which an offence is to be taken as committed against a person acting in the exercise of functions as an emergency worker include circumstances where the offence takes place at a time when the person is not at work but is carrying out functions which, if done in work time, would have been in the exercise of functions as an emergency worker. (5) In this section, “emergency worker” has the meaning given by section 68. (6) Nothing in this section prevents a court from treating the fact that an offence was committed against an emergency worker acting in the exercise of functions as such as an aggravating factor in relation to offences not listed in subsection (3).

68 Emergency workers for the purposes of section 67

(1) In section 67, “emergency worker” means—

(a) a constable;

(b) a person (other than a constable) who has the powers of a constable or is otherwise employed for police purposes or is engaged to provide services for police purposes;

(c) a National Crime Agency officer;

(d) a prison officer;

(e) a person (other than a prison officer) employed or engaged to carry out functions in a custodial institution of a corresponding kind to those carried out by a prison officer;

(f) a prisoner custody officer, so far as relating to the exercise of escort functions;

(g) a custody officer, so far as relating to the exercise of escort functions;

(h) a person employed for the purposes of providing, or engaged to provide, fire services or fire and rescue services;

(i) a person employed for the purposes of providing, or engaged to provide, search services or rescue services (or both);

(j) a person employed for the purposes of providing, or engaged to provide—

(i) NHS health services, or

(ii) services in the support of the provision of NHS health services,

and whose general activities in doing so involve face to face interaction with individuals receiving the services or with other members of the public.

(2) It is immaterial for the purposes of subsection (1) whether the employment or engagement is paid or unpaid. (3) In this section—

“custodial institution” means any of the following—

(a) a prison; (b) a young offender institution, secure training centre or secure college; (c) a removal centre, a short-term holding facility or pre-departure accommodation, as defined by section 147 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; (d) services custody premises, as defined by section 300(7) of the Armed Forces Act 2006;

“custody officer” has the meaning given by section 12(3) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994;

“escort functions”—

(a) in the case of a prisoner custody officer, means the functions specified in section 80(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991; (b) in the case of a custody officer, means the functions specified in paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994;

“NHS health services” means any kind of health services provided as part of the health service continued under section 1(1) of the National Health Service Act 2006 and under section 1(1) of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006;

“prisoner custody officer” has the meaning given by section 89(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.