Whither Section 89(1) of the Police Act 1996?

Abstract

Shortly after the establishment of police forces in England, Parliament provided that it was an offence to assault an officer who was acting in the execution of their duty at the material time. This long-established offence is now to be found in s. 89(1) of the Police Act 1996. As this article seeks to demonstrate, establishing that an officer was acting within the execution of their duty has sometimes caused problems for the prosecution. It is argued here, however, that such difficulties need no longer arise following the enactment of s. 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018. Without the matter being debated in Parliament, and despite the silence of the 2018 Act, the creation of the new statutory offence of assaulting an emergency worker while they are carrying out functions as such makes it highly likely that in the future, assaults on police officers will no longer be prosecuted under s. 89(1).