Petition · past parliament · Ministry of Justice
Mandatory jail sentence for assaulting (eg. spitting/coughing) emergency worker
Closed
109 signatures
What the petition asks
Anyone assaulting an emergency worker, including by spitting or coughing at them, should be subject to a minimum sentence of five years in jail. People who have no respect for the emergency services should be punished appropriately, and emergency workers need to be protected by a powerful deterrent.
The abuse of some emergency service workers has been discussed and the Government needs to create a more powerful deterrent to stop this. In the current situation using coughing or spitting as a weapon is unacceptable.
Timeline
| 1 May 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 1 Nov 2020 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
109
Status
Closed
Department
Ministry of Justice
Opened
1 May 2020
Closed
1 Nov 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.