Sussex Police officer, Sgt Alec Barrett, fell victim to a brutal assault while trying to protect a member of the public in Brighton.
As he intervened to break up a fight, he was viciously attacked, resulting in severe injuries including a broken eye socket and nose.
Shockingly, his cowardly attacker has walked free from court with a suspended sentence.
This incident highlights an alarming trend of emergency workers facing increasingly violent assaults in Brighton and Hove, with a staggering 155 assaults recorded in the last 12 months.
Sgt Barrett was attempting to break up a fight and protect the victim of an assault when cowardly Jonathan Beauchamp approached him from behind and delivered a running punch to his face.
Beauchamp then struck Sgt Barrett several more times, causing severe injuries.
Sgt Barrett was left with a concussion, a broken eye socket leading to bleeding in his sinuses, a broken nose, and damage to his cheek.
The shocking attack is just one in a series of assaults on emergency workers in Brighton and Hove.
According to the city council’s website, there were 155 assaults on emergency workers from March 2022 to March 2023.
Paramedics bore the brunt of these attacks, with 57 assaults, followed by firefighters (58) and other emergency workers, including police officers and social workers (40).
These assaults ranged from common assaults, which do not cause serious injury, to more severe incidents involving weapons and even sexual assaults.
Of the 155 reported assaults, 100 resulted in a suspect being identified and arrested.
Out of these, 75 were charged with a criminal offence, leading to 60 convictions and sentences. Alarmingly, only 30 of the convicted attackers received prison sentences.
Sgt Raffaele Cioffi, Deputy Secretary of Sussex Police Federation, slammed the court’s decision as lenient and outrageous, stating,
“The Federation continues to call on the courts to do their bit and protect the protectors.
“Custodial sentences are the strongest deterrent to stop these kinds of attacks – anything less does not protect us.”
The Sussex Police Federation has called for stronger action against violent crime, urging the government to take a firm stance and demanding a change in sentencing guidelines.
Until this happens, Sgt Cioffi fears officers and the public will remain at risk.
The alarming rise in assaults on emergency workers extends beyond Brighton and Hove, with 1,322 officers assaulted in Sussex in the last year – that’s more than 25 per week and over three per day.
Across England and Wales, there were 41,221 assaults on police officers last year, a shocking 20% increase on the previous year, translating to 793 assaults per week, 113 per day, and more than four every hour.
Sgt Barrett’s experience serves as a harsh reminder of the dangers faced by emergency workers daily.
Despite the harrowing ordeal, he remains grateful for the support from his colleagues and the Federation.
However, the lenient sentence given to his attacker raises serious concerns about the safety of emergency workers and the effectiveness of the justice system in dealing with violent crime.
The data from Brighton and Hove City Council underscores the urgent need for action to address this worrying trend and protect those who put their lives on the line to serve and protect the public.
Without stronger deterrents and more severe consequences for attackers, emergency workers in Brighton, Hove, and beyond will continue to face an unacceptable level of risk as they carry out their crucial work.
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It’s about time some of these judges/magistrates were retired or sent on training courses to learn what is considered “justice” by the populace.
Anyperson who even lays a hand on our police officers, N.H.S staff paramedics and firefighters should automatically get a 5 years jail sentence, i cant believe the stupidity of some of our judges.
This is completely insane, but then in Brighton, anything is possible. This attacker should have been locked up for a good few years, not let off with a scolding. Unless and until people who behave like this, along with thieves of all legal categories, are locked up for increasingly long periods, the streets will become more and more lawless. Look no further than the States and London.
We are told that prison is very expensive and we have no space. So build WW2 style prison camps. If General Wavell could incarcerate 200,000 Italian PoWs in a week or so on the edge of the Sahara, then we should be able to throw up secure accommodation pretty quickly. It might be rudimentary and even uncomfortable, but then so is a broken face. Sauce for the goose and all that.
People in jail find it very difficult to commit crime and that must be the primary objective of the judiciary. Crime can never be eliminated, but it can be cut right back simply by taking criminals of all levels out of circulation for increasing lengths of time.
It is disgraceful that the courts do not support our Police force, I cannot imagine how disappointed and angry this officer feels about the courts letting both him and the public down. Criminals laugh in the face of justice and no wonder why. This piece of work should have got 5 years and made to serve every day of those five years. The judiciary in this country are a complete joke and so out of touch it is unbelievable.
Yet again “a slap on the wrist”.
However, a very long sentence should be handed to all those who assault any Emergency Worker, but before being locked up, their personal assets should be seized, to pay for their keep, and employ them (without pay) to keep the Prison environment clean, including laundry, etc. until their FULL sentence has been served.
The Judicial system has become broken, Judges not facing reality. Re-opening the high security Prisons and Police Stations, such as High Security Paddington Green (awaiing re-building as a housing Tower Block) might make some difference – no excuse about lack of space. – Believe that when seen!
Wishing the Officer a truly FULL recovery so there is no pemanent damage.
Disgusting was the sentence reviewed ?