The Labour party’s proposed lenient justice reforms have sparked concern among law enforcement officials, with one policing leader cautioning that officers could end up as “community caretakers for criminals.”
Brian Booth, who serves as the deputy national chairman of the Police Federation, expressed worries that crime could surge due to emboldened offenders facing fewer deterrents. He represents 145,000 officers across the country and is particularly alarmed by government initiatives aiming to reduce imprisonment rates and shorten sentences.
Booth’s concerns align with recent events highlighting the consequences of early release policies. A shocking case involved a police officer who was brutally attacked and left for dead, with the perpetrator serving under three months of a three-year sentence.
Officer Ryan Davis was on an undercover mission in Hereford when he was violently assaulted by a father and son duo. They punched, kicked, and stomped on him, nearly causing him to lose consciousness through strangulation.
As a result, Davis sustained severe injuries, including a broken leg, multiple fractures, a dislocated ankle, and facial lacerations, notably harming his eye.
Alex Quinn, aged 20, was initially sentenced to three years and ten months in a young offender institution. However, his release after a mere 82 days has incited outrage among the police community.
Now Mr Booth has written to Justice Secretary David Lammy warning of the ‘growing gap between the sentence handed down in court and the reality experienced by victims’.
Ryan Davis was on a plain-clothes operation in Hereford when he was savagely attacked by a father and son who punched, kicked and stamped on him, strangling him until he was nearly unconscious
Richard (left), 49, and Alex Quinn (right), 20, were sentenced for the crime – but the baby-faced yob was released to ‘home detention curfew’ after serving less than three months
He fears the forthcoming sentencing reforms – that include ditching shorter sentences and more early releases – will lead to ‘rife’ criminality which police will be powerless to stop.
Chief constables have predicted crime will surge by up to 6 per cent and the bill for having to deal with thousands more criminals on the streets has doubled from initial estimates of an extra £400 million in policing costs to £800 million, according to the latest Home Office analysis.
The reforms will see violent offenders, who would have been given custodial sentences, instead being managed in the community through remote measures such as electronic tags.
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.
‘We should be investing in prisons because when you take criminals off the streets, it does stop them causing harm and society is protected from them.’
Following the brutal attack on Good Friday in 2024, PC Davis is still in chronic pain and has been unable to return to frontline duties due to his injuries. He had been on a violence against women and girls patrol in Hereford town centre, when he saw Quinn and his father Richard beating up a man.
When he attempted to stop them, the pair turned on him knocking him to the ground leaving him fearing he was going to die as they rained down punches.
Richard Quinn, 49, is still in jail after being sentenced to four years and three months for assault in February. But his son was released on May 13.
The baby-faced yob was released to ‘home detention curfew’ after serving less than three months after it was decided the 345 days he had spent wearing a tag on bail before sentencing should count towards the total time served.
Join the discussion
How should violent criminals who attack police officers be punished to protect public safety?
Following the brutal attack on Good Friday in 2024, PC Davis is still in chronic pain and has been unable to return to frontline duties due to his injuries
Sir Keir Starmer launched the early release scheme in a bid to tackle overcrowding in British prisons in 2024
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 said it was a ‘kick in the teeth’ for officers that offenders such as Quinn were freed so soon. He added: ‘He left him to die in essence. This was an attack on a police officer so what might he be capable of doing to a member of the public?
‘When a police officer almost gets killed, it just makes officers think, “What is the point in reporting it?”‘
Mr Booth is calling for the Government to review the release framework for offenders convicted of serious violence against emergency workers.
He added: ‘People won’t report crimes because they will lose faith in police, in the whole criminal justice system… If you report someone and that burglar is put on tag in the community, then they go out and do it again, what is the consequence for them? More time on tag?
‘Police officers will be dealing with more and more criminals in the community who should be in prison and we are not going to be able to keep an eye on everyone.
‘We do not have the resources, these dangerous people are going to roam free and we will see confidence in police going down when crime is rife.’
