South West emergency services staff assaulted 1500 times in last year

They're launching a new campaign

Figures released show the number of times emergency service staff in the South West have been assaulted over the last year. 
491 Devon & Cornwall Police Officers reported assaults and South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (SWASFT) says it's staff reported 1,049 assaults between January and December 2017. But it's thought there could be many more. 
Today, they've joined forces to highlight the issue and launch a new campaign called #Unacceptable
Assistant Chief Constable Paul Davies on behalf of Devon & Cornwall Police and Dorset Police said: “Our officers and staff, along with other emergency services colleagues, demonstrate commitment, courage and dedication on a daily basis. They signed up to helping and protecting the public, not coming into work each day with the risk of being assaulted. The impact this can have on them, their colleagues and their families can have lasting effects long after physical scars have healed.
“Together, the emergency services want to ensure our personnel can deliver the best possible service to our communities; but in order to do this we need injury-free and healthy work forces. We will not tolerate assaults on our emergency services and will seek to bring criminal proceedings against offenders.  I welcome the new law to double the maximum sentence from six months to 12 months for assaulting an emergency services worker.”

As part of the campaign, Emergency services personnel from across the region have been sharing their experiences in a video.