Steve Reid was slashed twice in the face as he tackled a man under the influence of drugs when he was called to a robbery back in 2019.

He received a seven-inch and eight-inch scar down the side of his face in the attack, and more than four years on, he still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Now he’s calling for better protection for officers after figures revealed that, on average, there were 11 attacks a week on Derbyshire Police officers.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed there were 584 assaults on Derbyshire Police officers in the year to 31 March 2023. Of those, 148 resulted in injury.

Steve, Derbyshire Police Federation’s health and safety lead, described the figures as ‘appalling’.

“Officers are doing their jobs and being assaulted while protecting people,” he said. “It’s appalling.”

Steve urged members to report all assaults on officers to give the Force a clear picture of what they are facing.

“Officers should have the confidence in reporting all assaults so the Force is aware of what’s happening on the street,” he said.

“From that, we can put support in place, and we can signpost to help and support, should that be needed.

“And if an officer is assaulted, we should receive the same level of service as any victim of crime.”

His comments were echoed by branch chair Tony Wetton, who said there was a concern officers were not reporting assaults because it’s seen by them as being ‘part of the job’.

“It absolutely isn’t,” said Tony. “Nobody should be physically attacked while doing their job - a job which the public needs police officers to do to keep them safe.

“Officers should report and record all assaults on them so we have an accurate picture of the level and circumstances of the violence they face at work.”

Tony added: “Assaulted officers must be treated like any other victim of violence, with offences investigated to a high standard and their welfare looked after as a priority.”

Steve also called for tougher sentences for offenders who attack officers.

The 2022 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act saw the maximum sentence for assaults on a blue light worker, including police officer, increase from 12 months to two years after lobbying by the Federation through its Protect the Protectors campaign.

Steve said: “Possibly because of the pressures on the prisons, it’s not being dealt with as strongly as many would like.

“There should be more pressure to look at attacks on emergency workers and push for the full sentencing powers to be used.

“As a Force, we should be pushing for those outcomes at court.”

Tony added: “The only way to reduce the number and severity of attacks on officers is for the criminal justice system to provide a deterrent by properly punishing offenders.

“The CPS must prosecute offenders where appropriate, and the courts must hand out meaningful sentences to convicted offenders.”

Steve said that officers who want to should have training in the use of Taser.

PFEW figures suggest that in 85 per cent of cases where Taser is drawn it is not actually fired. The presence of Taser was enough to diffuse the situation, protect officers from assault and safeguard the public.

Steve said he did not have access to Taser when he was attacked in 2019.

“I have spoken to officers who have Taser, and just by having a hand on it has diffused a situation,” he said.

“People they’ve been dealing with said they might have attacked the officer if they didn’t have Taser. It can have that effect, even if it’s not used.”