Shocking statistics reveal high number of assaults on South Yorkshire Police officers

Between March, 2021, and March, 2022, South Yorkshire officers were subjected to 806 assaults including 241 assaults which resulted in an injury to a constable and 565 without an injury to a constable across the force the region.

Across England and Wales, and also including British Transport Police, there were just over 41,000 assaults on police officers with 29,491 crimes of assault without injury on a constable recorded across all forces with an increase of 11per cent compared with 26,539 in the previous year.

And there were 11,730 crimes of assault with injury to a constable recorded across all forces including British Transport Police with an increase of 2.6per cent compared with 11,429 in the previous year.

A South Yorkshire Police Federation spokesman, representing officers’ welfare across the region, said the statistics mean that on average 15 officers were attacked every week during March 2021 and March 2022 based on the figure of 806 officers having been assaulted in South Yorkshire during the same period.

South Yorkshire police has previously described the increased number of attacks on its officers as “disturbing and unacceptable” and it always seeks to provide protection with body-worn video cameras helping to deter and bring offenders to justice.

Steve Kent, chairman of the South Yorkshire branch of the Police Federation has raised concerns that assaults on officers increased during the Covid-19 pandemic with a marked increase in terms of the numbers with disgusting examples of officers being spat at and coughed at, which essentially weaponized Covid-19.

Judges at Sheffield Crown Court repeatedly stress during the sentencing of defendants for assaulting emergency workers that such behaviour will not be tolerated and can often result in custodial terms.

The Avon and Somerset force recorded the highest total number of assaults against officers with 1,667 attacks during the relevant period and the Wiltshire force recorded the lowest figure of 292 with only three officers suffering an injury.

The data source for assaults on police officers is the police recorded crime series, which is published quarterly in “Crime in England and Wales”, released by the Office for National Statistics.