Police union demands jail time for assaults on officers

Officer attacked in Mount Isa

A male police officer was taken to hospital after an alleged altercation involving three officers in Mount Isa about two thirty am on October thirty.Two men aged twenty six and twenty four have been charged.

Officer's injuries detailed

Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior said the injured officer sustained injuries to his cheekbone and upper jaw, and a deep laceration to the top area of his lip and nose.

Union demands mandatory jail terms

The Queensland Police Union is calling for mandatory minimum sentencing for serious assaults on police.

“If you assault a police officer … there is one place for you, and that is inside a prison cell.”

Assaults on police are rising

Data from the Queensland Sentencing Board in twenty twenty five showed aggravated serious assaults on police had increased.In the two thousand nineteen to twenty twenty financial year, two hundred twenty matters resulted in sentencing.

Legal expert rejects mandatory minimums

Griffith University senior law lecturer Simon McKenzie said mandatory minimum sentencing would not deter assaults. He said such reforms would likely lead to higher prison populations and a less efficient justice system.

“The idea that someone is having a disagreement with a police officer and think, 'Maybe I'll assault them, but maybe I won't, because of the mandatory minimum' doesn't really stand up to scrutiny.”

Government won't rule out new laws

Attorney General Deb Frecklington would not rule out whether mandatory minimum sentencing laws for assaults on police were being considered. She said the government was steadfast in its commitment to make Queensland safer.

“We've always said we will continue to strengthen laws where required.”