Operation Cavell: Met launches initiative to crack down on abuse against NHS staff
It'll see a senior officer review all reports of assaults and hate crime against frontline health workers
Last updated 1st Apr 2021
A major project to tackle abuse against frontline health workers in London is launching today.
The Met has teamed up with the NHS and Crown Prosecution Service for Operation Cavell - which aims to increase convictions for these crimes.
In the last three months alone - frontline health workers in London have been punched, kicked, spat at, strangled - and been racially abused.
A recent survey suggested half of NHS staff saw it as just part of the job.
Now, a senior police officer will review every report of assault and hate crime of this type.
It's already been piloted in Lambeth, Southwark, Bromley, Croydon and Sutton - where the number of people charged has tripled.
Chief Inspector Luke Mooney, from the MPS, who led the pilot, said: “We are determined to make sure our NHS staff feel confident to report assaults or hate crime. There is no place in society for such abuse. Operation Cavell, in partnership with CPS, will be focussed on ensuring offenders are brought to justice in line with assault on emergency worker legislation.
“Op Cavell was launched to change this during a time where the NHS are facing pressures like never before during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The roll-out will see cases of assault on NHS staff be treated the same way that Operation Hampshire does for assaults on police officers, which has seen charge rates in some boroughs as high as 75%. The process will ensure all crimes are dealt with by specialised and dedicated police investigators."