HC Deb 21 July 1988 vol 137 cc747-8W
16. Mr. Thurnham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has about the incidence of attacks on police officers in the north-west.

53. Mr. Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the numbers of assaults on police officers in Welsh police authority areas.

Mr. Butler

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on the number of police officers assaulted in the latest available year; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Douglas Hogg

We are aware of and fully share the concern of the police service over the increasing frequency of assaults. There is no central record of cases which might be defined as assaults on the police. Different forces keep local records in different ways. For example, in Greater Manchester the number of assaults and consequent days lost through sickness has been monitored only since 1 July 1987. Between then and the end of 1987, 337 officers were assaulted on duty and 3,422 man-days lost as a result. My right hon. Friend has asked Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary to collect information on assaults on the police on a consistent basis and to publish this information in future annual reports.