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<p>Section 156 (2) of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 introduced
a new statutory aggravating factor for certain assault offences where they are committed
against a person providing a public service, performing a public duty, or providing
services to the public. The Government introduced this to ensure that the public-facing
nature of a victim's role would be considered, allowing the court to give a longer
sentence within the statutory maximum for the offence.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice
does not collect or publish data on the use of aggravating factors. Currently, there
is no specific offence for an attack against a worker undertaking a public-facing
role. As assault of a worker in a public-facing role is not a specific offence, we
are unable to assess the trends relating to assaults on public-facing workers specifically.</p><p>The
Government recognises the seriousness of assaults on workers undertaking public-facing
roles and is clear that we must adopt a zero-tolerance approach to assault against
those who serve the public. This is why in April 2024, the Government published ‘Fighting
Retail Crime: more action’, within which the Government announced plans to introduce
a new offence of assault against a shop worker, building on the operational policing
commitments in the police-led Retail Crime Action Plan published in October 2023.</p>
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