Widow of PC Andrew Harper wins fight for tougher sentencing
People who kill emergency service workers now face life in prison
Last updated 24th Nov 2021
A new law to give mandatory life sentences to the killers of emergency service workers has been backed by the Government.
The law change marks the end of a two-year campaign by Lissie Harper after her husband, PC Andrew Harper, was killed in the line of duty while answering a late-night burglary call.
PC Harper was 28 when he was dragged to his death down a winding country road as three men fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Berkshire in 2019.
They were jailed for manslaughter and were cleared of murder by the jury.
Since then Mrs Harper, 30, has been lobbying the Government to better protect emergency services workers on the front line.
The so-called Harper's Law is expected to make it onto the statute books via an amendment to the existing Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
It will likely get Royal Assent and become law early next year.
Mrs Harper said: "It's been a long journey and a lot of hard work. I know Andrew would be proud to see Harper's Law reach this important milestone."
Announcing the intended law change, the Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, said: "We are going to pass into law mandatory life sentences for those who unlawfully kill an emergency worker in the course of their duty.
"I pay tribute to Lissie Harper's remarkable campaign.
"This Government is on the side of victims and their families and we want our emergency services to know that we'll always have their back."
Home Secretary Priti Patel, said: "PC Andrew Harper's killing was shocking.
"As well as a committed police officer, he was a husband and a son.
"It is with thanks to the dedication of Lissie, and his family, that I am proud to be able to honour Andrew's life by introducing Harper's Law.
"Those who seek to harm our emergency service workers represent the very worst of humanity and it is right that future killers be stripped of the freedom to walk our streets with a life sentence."
Mrs Harper said: "Emergency services workers require extra protection.
"I know all too well how they are put at risk and into the depths of danger on a regular basis on behalf of society.
"That protection is what Harper's Law will provide and I am delighted that it will soon become a reality."
Police officers, National Crime Agency officers, prison officers, custody officers, firefighters and paramedics are all defined as emergency services workers.
The courts must already impose life sentences for murder, although they can also be applied to other violent offences.
A life sentence lasts for the rest of a person's life.
It means they can be sent back to prison if they commit another offence upon release from custody after serving at least the minimum sentence imposed by the courts.