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9 May 2005 - Legislation now in Force for
Scottish Emergency Workers
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Under The Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005, enforceable
today Monday 9 May 2005, Scottish emergency workers are now protected from
assaults, whilst carrying out their duties.
The new Legislation makes it an offence to assault, obstruct or
hinder any persons engaged in providing an emergency service.
Services covered under the new Act are as follows:
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Police officers carrying out their duties.
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Fire crews carrying out their duties.
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Ambulance and paramedic workers.
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Coastguards and Lifeboat crews.
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Prison officers responding to emergencies.
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Mental health officers responding to emergencies.
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Social Workers when enforcing child protection orders.
Under the Act, the maximum penalty is 9 months prison sentence,
a fine of £5,000, or both, whilst common law prosecutions will remain for the
most serious assaults.
Mr. Tom McCabe, Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform
commented:
"People who deal with emergencies provide an invaluable
service to our society.
"We believe they should be able to go about their work
without fear of attack or intimidation and that is why we brought forward this
legislation."
The Act has made provision for an order-making power, which
allows ministers to add, where deemed necessary, further groups who may be
vulnerable to attacks whilst carrying out their duties.
A Parliamentary Motion has also been submitted to the House of
Commons by Mr. Andrew Stunell MP, calling on the Government to "copy legislation
passed in the Scottish Parliament".
Mr. Stunell MP commenting on the situation at present in England
and Wales said:
"This is totally unacceptable and emergency workers like
doctors and nurses needed greater protection. Only 2% of reported incidents lead
to prosecution, with the CPS refusing to take incidents to court. By making it a
summary offence which would be heard purely by a judge, it would make it easier
for prosecutions to be brought.
"I hope that our new initiative will make live safer for people who work in
these essential jobs."
The Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 can be accessed by
clicking the following:
Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005
Article by Alexandra Johnston
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