SIXTEEN police officers were assaulted in Hampshire and Dorset over the weekend - reflecting an all too common problem according to Police Federation Chiefs.

Figures were put out on Twitter by Chairman of the Hampshire Police Federation John Apter, who wrote that 11 officers in the county had been "punched, kicked and slapped" in the line of duty.

His Dorset counterpart Tony Tester responded that he was dealing with five officers assaulted in Dorset over the weekend. Both commented that #assaultpolice was not acceptable.

 


Mr Apter told the Echo the figures were far from uncommon. Last year, the Home Office published data which showed that 1,007 officers in Hampshire were assaulted in the year ending March 31, 2015.

The force has now revealed assaults have increased to 1,021 between April 1, 2015 and February 29 this year.

Mr Apter added: "Fortunately the 11 that have occurred over the weekend were, on the scale of things, relatively minor - nobody was hospitalised. Unfortunately they were the previous weekend - one officer went to hospital with a broken nose, somebody else with a damaged knee."

He told the Echo he was fighting to change the perception "that it is just 'part of the job'", working within his own force and with the Crown Prosecution Service to make sure such assaults were dealt with properly, and resulted in prosecutions where appropriate.

In Dorset the official Home Office figure show 87 officers were assaulted in year ending March 31 2015.

Dorset Police Federation Chairman Tony Tester said that was down to how the information was recorded. The federation is now collecting its own figures - which showed 26 officers had reported being assaulted over the past three months to March 1.

He told the Echo: "Violence towards officers is not to be tolerated and that's why we are going out with the message; if you are assaulted when exercising your duty it should be reported through the right channels."

"As the numbers go up it reflects, hopefully, better reporting, but I think there is also some correlation with the reduction in numbers of officers."

He said it was an important message: "Not just internally, but also for the public to realise this is what officers have to face daily."

Pioneering work done in Hampshire, where a seven point plan has been adopted to ensure such assaults are properly investigated, is now 'snowballing', added Mr Apter, with Federations and Forces around the country now beginning to tackle the issue