Tasers plea as assaults on Tayside police rise

Assaults on police officers in Tayside have been reported every day on average for the past three years, figures reveal.

Data from the force’s internal HR systems show officers self-reported 1,167 assaults between April 1 2019 and March 8 this year, the equivalent of more than one a day – the third highest total in Scotland after Lanarkshire and Greater Glasgow.

The number of attacks reported in Tayside has increased from 340 in 2019-20 to 435 in 2021-22 – a trend mirrored in all 13 Scottish police divisions.

Based on divisional staff numbers for March, the region has the third highest assault rate per 100 officers after Lanarkshire and Forth Valley.

Biting, kicking, punching, spitting and headbutting were among the most common types of assault in Tayside during the past year, with four reports involving a sharp or bladed weapon and 15 with objects being thrown.

The figures, obtained under freedom of information laws, show police in Scotland have reported just over 10,000 assaults in the past three years, from 2,580 in 2019-20 to 4,317 in the latest period.

Scottish Police Federation chairman David Hamilton said: “These are truly shocking figures and underpin the dangers that police officers face. Officers need to see the rollout of Tasers accelerated and expanded, more deterrent sentences and an increase in police officer numbers.”

Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said the number of specially-trained officers who carry a Taser will rise from 500 to 2,000 in the next three years.

The police chief said this followed a strategic risk assessment which identified that there has been a gradual but sustained increase in the number of assaults on staff, with a rise in incidents involving weapons.

In January, Dundee Sheriff Court heard Forfar thug Connor Collins smashed PC John Annand’s ankle so severely during a struggle that he required surgery.

Collins walked free from court after a sheriff was told he had expressed remorse and insight into the consequences of his actions and it was not the accused’s intention to break the officer’s ankle.

Collins was placed on a curfew for six months, ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and was given a two-year supervision order.

At the time, Mr Hamilton tweeted: “This animal should have been caged.”

PC Annand later expressed his “anger and frustration” over the case.

In response to the figures, Assistant Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “Violence against (police officers) is utterly deplorable.”

The latest assault figures come from police “personnel records” and constitute health and safety data rather than official crime reports, which are sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Publicly-available crime statistics are not subcategorised to show assaults on police officers only and are classified by the government’s justice department as “assaults on emergency workers”.

Police Scotland’s information management team said extracting victim occupations and assault details from every crime report would be too time-consuming and costly.

The internal data can only provide incidents which are self-reported – it is limited as it may not include all recorded crimes of assault against Police Scotland officers.

The Courier had requested data for the past five years but Police Scotland’s internal figures only go back to April 1 2019.

No one should face violence when doing their job. But, sadly, an abuse-free existence is nothing more than a pipe dream for Scotland’s police.

For frontline officers, it is their job to walk into unpredictable and hostile situations, not walk away from them.

As a result, many find themselves subject to abuse or violence on an all-too-regular basis.

Stark new Police Scotland figures show the extent of the problem, with 1,167 reported assaults on Taysidebased officers in the last three years – more than than one every day.

The severity of those incidents varies widely

The severity of those incidents varies widely. But if hindrance and hostility is inevitable, it is not unreasonable to argue that further protections should be brought forward for officers without delay.

Tasers have been a limited part of the police’s armoury in Scotland for a number of years now.

Many still have qualms about Scottish police carrying Tasers, but they have proved to be an effective, non-lethal deterrent and the plan is to roll them out over the next three years, taking Taser-trained officer numbers to 2,000.

The union representing rank and file officers wants that timescale brought forward.

If it can be done safely and can help prevent more officers being hurt in the line of duty, then it is a request that must be explored without delay.