New laws that would create specific penalties for assaulting police and emergency services personnel will be developed before the end of the year, then introduced in the ACT Legislative Assembly for consideration.
Police and Emergency Services Minister Mick Gentleman said the ACT government would draft a bill that would also include new offences with higher penalties for driving at police officers or their vehicles.
At present, assaulting a police officer, firefighter or paramedic in the ACT is treated the same way as an assault on a member of the community.
The new laws would reflect the increased severity of assaults on first responders, but the maximum penalties that would apply to offenders are still to be determined.
"Our police, firefighters and paramedics routinely attend emergency incidents and render assistance in volatile and dangerous situations where they are exposed to an increased risk of violence," Mr Gentleman said in a statement.
"A new specific offence would reflect the clear community expectation that these assaults are unacceptable, and is similar to reforms in other Australian jurisdictions including Victoria."
The Australian Federal Police Association, which represents ACT Policing officers, has been pushing for years for specific penalties to protect first responders.
According to ACT Policing, there were 320 recorded assaults on police between January 1, 2012 and May 31 this year.
A recent police association survey painted an alarming picture of the dangers officers face on the job, with 66 per cent of the 212 ACT members who completed the survey saying they had been assaulted while on duty.
There was overwhelming support for "assault police" legislation, with 98 per cent of those surveyed in favour. Asked to rate how important "assault police" legislation was to them, the participants scored an average 93.7 out of 100.
Australian Federal Police Association president Angela Smith welcomed the proposed changes.
"One of our biggest concerns and lobbying points was the fact that common assault didn't accurately reflect the seriousness of assaulting a police officer or emergency services worker," she said.
"People who assault police officers, paramedics or firefighters won't be able to bluff or hide behind a 'common assault' charge on their criminal record. It will clearly state 'assault police officer or emergency service worker'."
United Firefighters Union ACT branch secretary Greg McConville said firefighters faced danger on the job every day.
"The threat or actuality of assault eats away at their ability to respond to incidents as required," he said.
"Members who are assaulted at work re-live the assault throughout their career.
"The knowledge that justice will be done helps heal the scars that would otherwise not be healed."
Transport Workers Union official Ben Sweaney said there should be zero tolerance for violence against paramedics and other emergency service workers.
"While we welcome deterrents such as separate offences, for justice to be served each case must be determined upon the circumstances," he said.
"Regrettably, the work of paramedics far too often brings them into contact with potentially violent patients. Our members welcome all steps to deal with and prevent these scenarios."
Mr Gentleman said the government's plan to create new offences for driving at police officers or their vehicles would "send a clear signal that those who ram police will be held to account and face higher penalties".
"The creation of new driving offences would recognise that this behaviour places police and the broader community at serious risk of injury or death," he said.
There was also overwhelming support for the creation of those new offences among the police association members surveyed recently.
More than three-quarters (76 per cent) were in favour, while 60 per cent of participants said their life had been placed in danger by being hit by a vehicle, driven at or rammed.
The potential creation of the new driving offences may go some way to addressing an unintended consequence of ACT Policing's limited pursuits policy, which 74 per cent of survey participants believed had contributed to an increase in police officers being driven at or rammed.
Then-chief police officer Justine Saunders said last year there had been "a steep increase" in the number of drivers failing to stop after the limited pursuits policy was introduced in early 2016, following the deaths of nine people on ACT roads in crashes related to police pursuits between 2004 and 2015.
In the 12 months following the policy's introduction, there was an 81 per cent reduction in the number of pursuits in the ACT. Of the 31 pursuits undertaken, 19 were terminated within a minute.
