NEW guidelines to help courts determine how to sentence those who assault an emergency worker come into effect today.
The Sentencing Council guidelines will help courts in England and Wales to make a balanced assessment of the seriousness of the offence and impose a proportionate sentence.
It is the first time that judges and magistrates will have specific guidance for sentencing assault on emergency worker offences, which reflects legislation that increased the maximum sentence for common assault when the victim is an emergency worker.
The emergency services in Wales, where assaults on police, fire and ambulance crews have increased, have welcomed the new guidelines.