A new bill aims to introduce harsher penalties for the assault of police officers and other public officials. 

Prison terms of up to 15 years for the assault of a police officer are planned, with murder carrying a sentence of 25 years or  potentially life imprisonment. Young offenders will also face harsher penalties for assault. 

The new bill was drafted by the Council of Ministers, Tuesday, the same day when a man from Komorze, western Poland, poured petrol over two officers and set them alight. 

The move over the introduction of harsher penalties for the assault of a public officer comes after the death of a policeman in Warsaw’s Wola district, as well as the assault of a police officer near Plock, central Poland. 

Talking to Polish Television (TVP), Justice Minister Krzysztof Kwiatkowski underlined that police officers “carry out their responsibilities for all of us, and look out for our safety.” 

Kwiatkowski said that in many parts of Europe prison sentences for assaulting public functionaries are already higher than for the attack of any other citizen. 

Currently, the assault or causing of grievous bodily harm to a police officer carries a sentence of between 1 and 10 years. The government wants to raise the bar for such crimes to between 3 and 15 years. 

The sentence for the killing of a public officer is currently set at between 8 and 25 years or life. The change to the law will mean only the latter two options will be available to judges when passing a sentence. (jb/pg) 

Source: TVP Info