#ProtectTheProtectors: Rise is assaults is 'sickening piece of evidence' of what police officers go through on a daily basis

30 July 2021

399 Cumbria Police officers were assaulted last year.

Figures published by the Government show that 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.

Paul Williams, Chairman of Cumbria Police Federation, said: "This is a physical sickening piece evidence of what our members have had to endure over the last year and are still enduring."

“Violence towards police officers is up and has been rapidly increasing for far too long.

“These figures speak volumes about not just society and what our cops have to put up with but the increased risk they now take going out to protect the public.

“I am not prepared to play this down to the public or the membership - it’s real, and our cops are getting hurt for trying to do their job.”

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.

Paul added: “This job is more dangerous, more demanding and draining on resources than it has ever been. Leave bans, cancelled rest days and extra hours are the norm now yet we have very recently effectively taken a further pay cut.

“Someone from Government please tell me how this is right and acceptable because so far we’ve seen nothing other than results of our own tireless campaigning around sentence increases that Government take credit for.”