The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
‘Unacceptable’ attacks on police officers have reached five-year high
FIGURES: Assaults between April and June have jumped by 10.1% to 1,649
Assaults on police officers are “utterly unacceptable” Scotland’s chief constable has said, after figures showed they had hit a five-year high.
There were 1,649 assaults on officers between April and June this year, up 10.1% on the same period of 2018.
Attacks on officers in the west command area rose by more than a fifth (22.1%), driving up the overall figure, while in the north and east area commands the number of assaults dropped 12.6% and 1.2% respectively.
The Scottish figures were announced almost a week after PC Andrew Harper, 28, was killed while investigating a burglary in Berkshire.
Speaking at the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) board meeting in Stirling, Police Scotland Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said: “Our officers find themselves dealing with dangerous situations on a daily basis to protect the people they serve.
“They are trained to a high level to deal with violent and confrontational situations, but as chief constable I think it is really important I make my position very clear that being assaulted is absolutely not simply part of the job.”
PC Harper, a Thames Valley Police officer, was killed last Thursday evening. Jed Foster, the man accused of his murder, faces trial in January.
Mr Livingstone said he was “entirely open to the greater use and roll-out of Tasers if the evidence shows it is proportionate and necessary to do so to protect officers and staff”.
The force is currently assessing the use of Tasers in Scotland and Mr Livingstone said the views of police officers, staff and the public will be taken into account.
The SPA figures show Saturdays are peak days for assaults on officers, particularly between 8pm and 1am.
The report said it recognises there is an “under-reporting of assaults committed against officers” on internal personnel systems and said work is ongoing to ensure they understand the importance of updating their records.
Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said: “We will be reviewing our response to assaults and our system’s approach to it and ensuring that we have a joined up response, including not just Police Scotland but colleagues elsewhere in the criminal justice system.”
David Hamilton, vice chairman of the Scottish Police Federation which represents more than 18,500 officers in Scotland, said: “The increase of assaults on officers is a pattern we are seeing across the UK.
“It is essential the roll-out of Tasers to every officer is carried out.
“Only 3.5% of officers in Scotland are currently trained to use Taser devices. “The assault figures we know are underreported, by around 50%. And around 90% of officers in Scotland want to be issued with Taser devices.
“Officers being equipped with Tasers will allow them to respond more effectively to dangerous situations.”
On a day-today basis we see our officers and staff in Scotland being assaulted to a greater extent. It’s not part of the job. CHIEF CONSTABLE IAIN LIVINGSTONE