Oscar Kilo is launching a “game-changing” app to collect data on police assaults

19 November 2021

Oscar Kilo is launching a “game-changing” app to collect data on police assaults and make sure victims get the support they need.

The National Police Assaults Data app forms part of Operation Hampshire, and is being trialled by City of London Police before being rolled out to all forces in England and Wales. The initiative is being driven through the College of Policing, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, and the national police wellbeing service, Oscar Kilo.

Chief Inspector Dave Brewster from Oscar Kilo said: “We need a way of gathering police assault data, at a detailed and consistent level. There were around 37,000 assaults on police reported between 2020 and 2021.

“But the data we have only tells us that about 65% of those were assaults without injury and the remainder were assaults with injury. It doesn’t tell us who was punched, bitten, spat at, kicked, it doesn't tell us the context of the assault, where it took place, or the age and length of service of the officers involved.

“In order for us to learn as an organisation, and improve kit, equipment, training and policy, we need to really understand the scale and trends of what’s happening to our colleagues.

“We want to reduce assaults, lessen the impact of assaults and improve the wellbeing support around them. This is potentially game-changing for policing.”

The new app allows officers to record assaults, signposts supervisors to do welfare assessments, then feeds in to national figures to support the Police Covenant and help tackle the problem.

The app is quick and simple to use and sits within Microsoft Office 365. It was developed with the National Enabling Programme, part of Police Digital, in partnership with Microsoft and their partner Agilicys.

City of London Police Federation Chairman Mike Reed said: “As a Federation, this is a fantastic opportunity to support our membership. The app is on the force IT, and it takes just four minutes for a supervisor to fill in. Then it will trigger processes to ensure that victims are looked after.”

Real-time information is a crucial part of Protecting the Protectors, added City of London Police Inspector Luke Harley. He said: “For too long, forces have been complacent about officers and members of police staff being assaulted. Police are entitled to the same level of care and treatment as any other victim of crime. By adhering to the seven-point plan of Op Hampshire we will ensure that the care and level of investigation into assaults on the police is at the same standard as for members of the public.”

Op Hampshire Champion PC Barry Jarvis agreed, saying: “We need to change attitudes and make sure that everyone gets the support they need – we don’t come to a job to get beaten up.”