Recommendation 5

Any attack on emergency services workers is entirely unacceptable. It’s therefore hugely worrying that these attacks appear to be on the increase, and we welcome recent measures set out in the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 to tackle the broader issue. There is evidence that attacks involving fireworks make up a significant proportion of these incidents in some parts of the country, but we are concerned they are not being consistently recorded and published. Without complete and accurate data, it is not possible to understand the extent of the problem or take steps to rectify it through properly informed local decisions. We recommend the Government work with emergency services across the country to ensure that such incidents involving fireworks are specifically and consistently recorded across all local emergency services, and the data made publicly available.Any attack on emergency services workers is entirely unacceptable. It’s therefore hugely worrying that these attacks appear to be on the increase, and we welcome recent measures set out in the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 to tackle the broader issue. There is evidence that attacks involving fireworks make up a significant proportion of these incidents in some parts of the country, but we are concerned they are not being consistently recorded and published. Without complete and accurate data, it is not possible to understand the extent of the problem or take steps to rectify it through properly informed local decisions. We recommend the Government work with emergency services across the country to ensure that such incidents involving fireworks are specifically and consistently recorded across all local emergency services, and the data made publicly available.