The Police Federation has warned that Labour's justice reforms will turn officers into 'care-takers in the community for criminals', leading to a surge in crime. Brian Booth, deputy national chairman of the organisation representing 145,000 rank-and-file officers, said dangerous offenders will be emboldened by the lack of deterrents under the Government's plans to jail fewer people and release inmates earlier.
His warning came as it emerged that Ryan Davis, a police officer brutally attacked in Hereford, saw his attacker released after serving less than three months of a three-year sentence. Alex Quinn, 20, was sentenced to three years and ten months in a young offender institution but was freed after just 82 days, sparking fury among officers.
Mr Booth has written to Justice Secretary David Lammy, highlighting the 'growing gap between the sentence handed down in court and the reality experienced by victims'. He fears the forthcoming sentencing reforms, which include ditching shorter sentences and more early releases, will lead to 'rife' criminality that police will be powerless to stop.
Chief constables have predicted crime could surge by up to 6 per cent, and the cost of dealing with thousands more criminals on the streets has doubled from initial estimates of £400 million to £800 million, according to the latest Home Office analysis. The reforms will see violent offenders managed in the community through measures like electronic tags instead of custody.
Mr Booth said: 'We will be caretakers in the community for criminals. How are we going to deal with a system where we have only the most dangerous people kept in prison, yet we allow some bloody dangerous people to remain on the streets with barely a rap across the wrists? It will embolden criminals – going soft on criminals does not keep people safe in my experience.'
PC Davis was on a plain-clothes operation targeting violence against women and girls in Hereford town centre on Good Friday 2024 when he saw Quinn and his father Richard beating up a man. When he intervened, the pair turned on him, knocking him to the ground and raining down punches, kicks and stamps, strangling him until he was nearly unconscious. He suffered a broken leg, multiple fractures, a dislocated ankle and facial lacerations, including damage to his eye.
Richard Quinn, 49, remains in jail after being sentenced to four years and three months for assault. But his son was released on May 13 under home detention curfew after the 345 days he spent on bail wearing a tag were counted towards his sentence.
PC Davis said: 'This horrific attack changed who I am. I have struggled ever since. The Quinns' actions put me through so much physical and mental pain. All I was trying to do was protect members of the public and prevent harm. Even now, I still have nightmares, and the chronic pain is a daily reminder.'
Mr Booth called the early release a 'kick in the teeth' for officers and urged the Government to review the release framework for offenders convicted of serious violence against emergency workers. He warned that public confidence in the police will decline as crime becomes rife.
