By Professor John Robertson
BBC Reporting Scotland is today, all day, reporting of attacks against emergency services staff.
The only acceptable level is, of course, zero and campaigns to get there are important but so are trend data to enable us to see if we’re getting there or getting worse. They’re easily got but they don’t fit the agenda.
First, for firefighters, from 2015/16 to 2023/24, incidents of physical abuse have fallen from 13 to 1 (!), verbal abuse from 37 to 16. Incidents resulting in injuries have fallen to 1 in 2023/24 and were as high as 5 and 7 in 2016-2018. 1
More worryingly, Scottish Government figures:
Of the 59,314 crimes recorded in 2023-24, 7,972 (13%) related to Common assault of emergency workers, an increase of 5% since 2022-23 and an increase of 23% since 201415.2
While, by no means wishing to minimise these disgraceful acts, it is import to remember that ‘common assault’ is mostly verbal and does not include cases resulting in physical injuries. 3
Sources:
- https://www.firescotland.gov.uk/publications/document/?id=7950
- https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2023-24/documents/
- https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/offences-against-person-incorporating-charging-standard#:~:text=Common%20assault%20is%20an%20act,645.
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Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The most frequent ”attacks against Emergency Services staff ” appear to come from BBC Scotland’s reporters who are constantly undermining their service with misleading headlines and selected ‘facts’ about their ”failings”.
It would be heartening ( for Emergency services staff ) if BBC Scotland were to PRAISE them occasionally for their outstanding efforts instead of continually using them as a stick with which to beat the Scottish Government .
I won’t hold my breath !
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