Commissioner's plea after steep rise in attacks on police

There were 98 incidents across South Yorkshire over the past seven weeks, compared to 71 for the same period last year.

Police commissioner Dr Billings was “utterly shocked” the steep increase in attacks on officers.

He added: “This is absolutely unacceptable and we should not tolerate it.

“I recognise that over the past few months we have all been disturbed by aspects of police conduct in the United States, but the style of policing in this country is different.

“We have neighbourhood teams who work with their communities, we have a police force that is not routinely armed, our officers police by consent and do what we ask them to do.

“Officers work to professional standards and on those rare occasions when someone falls below them, they are rightly held to account.”

The commissioner called for communities to give police and other emergency services their support in every way possible.

He added: “This is a difficult time for all of us as we live through the period of the pandemic, but when police officers go to work in the morning or at night they do so to keep us safe. 

“They should know that we appreciate that. They have my full support at this difficult time.”