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Judges: Crimes of Violence

Asked by Jim ShannonDemocratic Unionist PartyMinistry of JusticeTabled Answered 25 July 2025UIN 68368

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many physical attacks there have been on judges in the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman

The Secretary of State for Justice regards Judicial Office Holders’ safety with great importance. There are robust security and safety systems at court/tribunals to protect all court users and the department works with the Police and Judicial Office to deliver effective judicial security outside of court and online.

Physical attacks on Judicial Office holders are incredibly rare. There have been two instances in the past five years. When serious incidents such as these do occur, they are subject to robust investigations to ensure lessons are learnt to prevent recurrence and ensure all security and safety risks are managed to as low a level as reasonably practicable. Over £20m in additional funding in 25/26 has been allocated to a programme of works to further strengthen existing physical and online security arrangements.

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