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Nine police officers a day attacked in London
Ruth Bloomfield12 Dec 2008
NINE police officers a day are being attacked in London, figures show.
At least 3,262 Met officers were assaulted on duty in the year to April 2008, according to Home Office data.
Officers working in central and poorer parts of London were worst hit, with 240 attacked in Westminster and 188 in Lambeth. Commuter boroughs were safest, with just 23 officers assaulted in Harrow, 31 in Richmond upon Thames and 40 in Bexley.
Peter Smyth, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said the figures were "horrifying" and called on harsher punishment for attackers.
He said: "My reaction to these figures is dismay - but not surprise.
"We think the courts are too lenient on this matter. Officers can be assaulted for the most trivial reasons. Just a couple of weeks ago two officers were seriously assaulted for talking to somebody about litter. The Crown Prosecution Service needs to put more people before the courts, and I think the courts need to be a bit more robust. If there is no deterrent people will keep on doing it."
The data does not count cases where an officer has been badly hurt, which are included in general crime statistics.
This means the true number of attacks on police will be even higher than today's figures suggest. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Authority said a rise in attacks over the last five years - there were 2,830 in 2003/04 - had to be taken in the context of an increasing number of police. He added: "Any assault is unacceptable."
A spokeswoman for the Met said: "The safety of our officers is at the forefront of planning any operation and officers receive the appropriate training and equipment to carry out their duties as safely as possible."
The number of police officers, special constables and PCSOs that the Met employs has risen from 32,469 in 2004 to 38,133 this year.
Reader views (11)
Arm the police!
- M. John Namrah, San Diego, California, 12/12/2008 23:48
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John from Phillie Cops in the US are a joke they are scared if they don't have a gun because that is their answer to every situation They need to understand people and not try to terrify them with a gun and uniform
- Colin, South London England, 12/12/2008 19:37
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I am surprised that 9 police officers a day are attacked. It is many years since I have seen 9 police officers in a day!
- Kevin Sullivan, Roehampton, London., 12/12/2008 19:00
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And the Met. are not going to issue Taser to all frontline cops despite the rest of the UK going do so in the next year or two.
Shame on the (leftwing liberal)persons who make these decisions.
- D. Garven, Angus, 12/12/2008 18:13
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Police Officers or communist supporters officers?? If they do not have the proper training criminals of course will get away with everyting. Plus if the police stay inside in their offices they don't know the streets anymore. Nu Labor has made a joke of the force.
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London, 12/12/2008 16:39
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The solution is simple: cops in England need to carry guns. A cop without a gun is just a man in a uniform, and cannot command the respect of thugs. Unarmed cops in the USA would be slaughtered if they went around without firearms.
- John Johnson, Philadelphia, USA, 12/12/2008 16:36
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Unfortunately Exmetacpo, PCSO's are not taken into account in these figures because they are considered Police staff and not warranted officers
- Martin Van, London, 12/12/2008 14:31
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Police officer should have dogs!!!
- L Parker, london, 12/12/2008 13:27
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Don't believe these figures. An increase of 500 in a five year period is nothing exceptional, particularly bearing in mind the fact that prior to 2003/4 Common Assaults (i.e. pushing, spitting, threats to assault, etc) were not recorded as assaults on Police but have been since 2005/6. More interesting is the fact that the 'spin-meisters' at the Yard now include Specials and Plastic Police (PCSO's)in the overall total of police employed - a clear distortion of reality.
- Exmetacpo, London, 12/12/2008 12:25
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Gone are the days when you would see a copper over 6ft tall. They all seem to be fresh out of school now days. How do you expect these kids who are often bullied at school to control thugs in London?
- Serox, London, 12/12/2008 12:13
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"We think the courts are too lenient on this matter..."
The courts are too lenient on ALL matters. And thanks to the Lefty-Liberals, prisons are so soft now that a custodial sentence has no deterrent effect. When the joke of a custodial sentence is handed down, the scum do not even spend half of that time behind bars.
The judicial system in this country is broken.
- Frank, Home Counties, England, 12/12/2008 12:10
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