The chief constable of Sussex has added her voice to demands that the murderers of PC Andrew Harper remain imprisoned.
Sussex Police’s head officer Jo Shiner is among 50 senior figures from UK policing and criminal justice who have put their names to a public letter calling on the prime minister to block the early release of those found guilty of killing PC Harper.
PC Harper, who served with Thames Valley Police, suffered fatal injuries after becoming entangled in a rope fixed to a vehicle and being pulled along a rural route in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, during 2019.
The constable had been responding to reports of a stolen quad bike when the incident took place.
Two of the three individuals responsible for PC Harper’s death, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, are scheduled to be freed next year after completing half of their 13-year prison terms, having been found guilty of manslaughter in 2020.
Under legislation introduced before this year, they would have been required to serve two-thirds of their sentences.
The letter additionally presses for improved safeguards for crime victims and asks the government to give full weight to Harper’s Law, which acknowledges the extraordinary dangers faced by emergency personnel while carrying out their duties.
Chief Constable Shiner stated that the needless death of PC Andrew Harper continues to cause profound sorrow throughout the police service.
She noted that attending the memorial service at the National Memorial Arboretum to pay tribute to colleagues who lost their lives while on duty just a fortnight earlier served as a powerful reminder of the dangers confronting officers, frontline staff and other emergency workers daily.
She explained that many of the officers and staff she oversees go to work each day determined to safeguard the public and maintain the safety of local communities.
She expressed the view that it is entirely reasonable for them to anticipate that the criminal justice system will support them when they consistently place themselves in dangerous situations.
Chief Constable Shiner has also appended her signature to the public petition demanding legislative action.
She appealed to the prime minister to not merely discover a method of ensuring those responsible for this dreadful offence remain incarcerated, but also to guarantee that other crime victims are not failed by a system that ought to have been reformed long ago.
She declared it completely unacceptable that perpetrators of serious offences are being granted early liberation while their victims are abandoned because prison capacity has been exhausted, despite this outcome having been entirely predictable.
She expressed confidence that as someone who has co-signed the letter and added her name to the petition, she hopes that the appropriate resolution will be achieved in this case and similar situations.