#ProtectTheProtectors: It is both disheartening and infuriating to see assaults on police officers rise by over 20%

30 July 2021

There were 1,473 assaults on Avon and Somerset Police officers recorded last year. That’s 28 colleagues assaulted every week. Four police officers assaulted every day.

That’s also 539 more assaults on our officers than the previous 12 months.

Nationally, there were 36,969 assaults on police officers in England and Wales last year. That’s a 20%+ annual national rise.

It works out as 720 assaults a week, 101 assaults on police officers every day and more than 4 assaults every hour.

Tony Henley, Secretary of Avon and Somerset Police Federation, said: “It is both disheartening and infuriating to see that assaults on police officers has risen by over 20% this year.

“It is even more concerning that Avon and Somerset has seen one of the largest rise the country. Any assault on an individual officer is an assault on the policing family as a whole and must not be tolerated.

“I would urgently ask the Force to research the root cause of this significant rise on assaults on police officers in Avon and Somerset - and then take suitable measure to reduce the impact this is having on our officers.

“Is it about training? Is it about a culture of acceptability? Is it about pursuing a determined prosecution of offenders? We need an evidence-based approach to discover appropriate solutions to protect our officers.”

11,235 police officers were injured when the public assaulted them over the past year – that’s 30 injuries to police officers every single day of the year.

Tony added: “This is of course situated within the context of a Home Secretary that has failed to deliver on pay. Whilst officers are literally being assaulted on a daily basis, this decision is a metaphorical ‘kick in the face’ for our members.

“This is despite our officers continual work through the pandemic, constant changes in shifts, high levels of fatigue and dealing with public disorder. Have we become the poor relation of the public service sector?”