A woman has been charged with grievous bodily harm after two policemen were stabbed in what was described as a “serious incident” in Essex.
Humaira Faheem Akhtar was arrested on Friday night at a house in Chelmsford, where officers suffered “serious, but not life-changing” injuries after they were called to the property following a report of concern for someone’s welfare.
One policeman was stabbed in the leg and another was stabbed in the hand after they forced their way into the bedroom, where officers allegedly discovered the 50-year-old woman armed with a knife.
By the time of the alleged attack, police had already requested back-up at the scene, where witnesses reported having seen as many as ten emergency services vehicles late Friday night and early Saturday morning.
According to local media, officers had to use a taser in order to apprehend Akhtar, who was charged at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning and is remanded in custody until early January, when she will appear in the city’s Crown Court.
Earlier this year, a survey conducted by Sky Data found that the overwhelming majority of Britons back routinely arming police constables, after the UK was hit by a spate of radical Islamic terror incidents including the deadly London Bridge attack — in which a British Transport Police officer was hospitalised after confronting a trio of knife-wielding jihadists while armed only with an extendable baton.
Data released by the Home Office in October showed knife crime had risen by 26 per cent in the year to June. Illegal gun crime was also up 27 per cent from the previous year, despite Britain boasting some of the world’s most draconian controls on legal firearms ownership.
The statistics showed that arrest numbers have dropped by almost 50 per cent in the last decade, and although violent crime is on the rise, forces across the UK have become increasingly focused on tackling “hate crime” and policing the internet for “offensive” comments online.
Thousands of people were arrested for making supposedly hateful posts on social media websites last year in Britain, while in recent months police have partnered with “anti-Islamophobia” groups to launch campaigns and initiatives against “hate crime”.
The Metropolitan Police have also been visiting mosques across London in order to encourage Muslims to report “perceived” so-called “hate crimes”.
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