YP Comment: Under attack in the line of duty. Never take the police for granted

Those who denigrate the police for little justification clearly have no comprehension of the daily dangers faced by the emergency services. Each 999 call for help is a journey into a potentially life and death situation where officers, often with little more than a baton for protection, are routinely expected to put their safety on the line.

That they are prepared to face such risks is indicative of their professionalism in a region which has more reason than most to remember the sacrifices made since the turn of the century – Constables Ian Broadhurst and Sharon Beshenivsky, still mourned by their young families, did not return home after being gunned down in the line of duty while responding to emergencies in Leeds and Bradford respectively. Thankfully incidents resulting in serious, or fatal, injuries are still relatively rare and Britain has not had to follow the example of those countries where most police are armed for their own protection.

Yet it is already clear, from eye witness accounts of the Sheffield incident, that the female officer owes her life to her colleagues, and those heroic members of the public, who came to her aid. Chilling photographs of the blood-soaked crime scenes are testimony to the seriousness of her injuries and the debt of gratitude that each and every citizen owes to those officers who risk their lives to protect society from those armed criminals who do endanger the safety of all. A thankless job, the sadness is that it invariably takes an attack of this magnitude for people to say thank you to the police and acknowledge the selfless courage of officers when they are confronted with such dangers.