A WOMAN who assaulted a police constable after refusing to provide a specimen for analysis has been sentenced by a court in Cornwall. 

Courtney Keesha Tait Williams, aged 25, appeared in front of magistrates at Truro Magistrates' Court on Thursday, May 25 on one count of assault by beating of an emergency worker, and one count of failing to provide a specimen for analysis. 

The offences took place on April 10 at Church Road in Shortlanesend, where Williams, when suspected of having driven a vehicle and having been required to provide a specimen or specimens of breath for analysis in the course of an investigation into whether she had committed an offence, failed without reasonable excuse to do so. 

On the same day, Williams then assaulted a police constable acting in the exercise of his functions by beating him. 

Williams pleaded guilty to both offences.

During her sentencing, Williams was made the subject of a community order under which she must adhere to a curfew with electronic monitoring as well as take part in a rehabilitation activity for a maximum of six days. 

She was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence for a period of 12 months and had her driving record endorsed. 

According to the Sentencing Council, sentences handed down for these types of offences vary depending on a number of factors such as whether the offence committed was common assault, actual bodily harm, or grievous bodily harm or wounding.

Sentences are also worked out by assessing harm and culpability, that is, whether the attack was sustained or repeated and how responsible the offender was for the assault.

The maximum sentence for a common assault that isn't against an emergency worker or racially or religiously aggravated is six months custody.

This raises to one year's custody if the assault is against an emergency worker and two years custody if the assault is religiously or racially motivated.