Taser call after hourly assaults on police

Edinburgh Reporter

4 hours ago

A POLICE officer was assaulted almost every hour last year as attacks soared to an all-time high with over 7000 cops subjected to violence on duty.
Police Scotland say there were 7159 assaults against officers in 2024/25 with 425 more frontline cops attacked compared to the previous year — an increase of 6.3%.
It means that on an average 20 cops were attacked each day, with around a quarter suffering varying levels of injuries as a result and hundreds needing hospital treatment.
The three most common types of assault against officers by members of the public are being kicked, punched and spat on.
David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPA), which represents rank and file officers, maintains all frontline officers should be armed with Tasers — non-lethal weapons used to temporarily stun people via a controlled electrical discharge.
Police Scotland currently have around 2000 Specially Trained Officers (STOs) who can discharge the guns and are used to de-escalate potentially violent situations, protect officers and ensure the safety of the public.
Mr Kennedy said: 'The rise in assaults is unacceptable and underscores the need for better protection for officers.
'Each assault is an officer simply doing their job and being attacked for it – often with lasting physical and mental impact.
'We need greater investment in officer safety, including wider roll-out of protective equipment like Tasers, to ensure colleagues can return safely to their families at the end of each shift.'
He added: 'While it's impossible to eliminate all threats, the Scottish Police Federation advocates for comprehensive safety training for officers and we'd want every officer to be given a Taser.'
Mr Kennedy said in one weekend officers in Glasgow and Edinburgh suffered injuries including broken finger, lacerated knee, head and facial injuries as well as being bitten.
In another incident, a 33-year-old officer in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, was seriously injured after being hit by a vehicle during a routine patrol, while an officer was injured on Halloween after a brick was thrown through the window of her police vehicle in Edinburgh.
Police Scotland say they are working to try to reduce assaults and injuries among officers, with additional training being trialed to see if safety can be improved.
A force report says: 'Police Scotland continue to try and reduce assaults and injuries of officers/staff and the Operational Safety Training department have delivered a pilot to test if additional training dosage would make officers/staff safer.'
The results of the pilot are currently being evaluated.
While Police Scotland currently have no plans to issue Tasers to all frontline officers, Chief Constable Jo Farrell has hailed the belated deployment of body worn video cameras as a 'game changer' in terms of helping to improve officer safety.
The cameras are regarded as a vital evidence-gathering tool and safeguard against assaults on officers and vexatious complaints.
Police Scotland is the second largest force in the UK after the Met and was the only one not to have equipped officers with the vital equipment after a decade of successive delays.
Around 750 officers in Tayside were among the first to be equipped with the 'essential' kit in March and within weeks had been used by frontline cops to make 12,796 recordings.
Ms Farrell said ensuring officers have the best equipment for the job is 'essential'.
She said: 'We are already hearing the cameras are helping to de-escalate incidents, provide an early resolution to police complaints and to record admissions made by an accused, that may have earlier been missed during an incident.
'As the roll out continues over coming months, every frontline uniformed police officer, including Special Constables, will be expected to wear a video camera on their uniform while on duty and to activate it when using police powers, whether conducting a stop and search, arresting a suspect, or executing a search warrant.'
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