The new map shows the London boroughs where Met Police officers are most likely to be attacked

Assaults on police officers are on the rise, according to new data. A new map shows where UK officers are most likely to be attacked, including every London borough.

In 2023, there were more than 44,000 attacks on police officers in England and Wales, with one in four attacks resulting in an officer being injured. That was a 9 percent increase from about 41,000 attacks in 2022 and 48 percent higher than five years ago before the 2019 pandemic, when there were fewer than 33,000 incidents.

But police officers are more likely to be attacked in some parts of the country – and in London – than in others. Looking at the data from the perspective of attacks on officers per 100,000 people, Westminster in central London has one of the highest rates of attacks in the country compared to the resident population.

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Westminster has a rate of 799 assaults for every 100,000 people – but the number of assaults is falling every year. However, officers in Westminster are also responsible for policing an extremely large number of tourists and visitors, in addition to people living in the borough. The area is also often a hotbed for major protests.

Lambeth in south London has one of the highest rates of assaults on officers per 100,000 people – 362. Also in a similar range are Camden, Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham.

In 2023, more officers were attacked in Birmingham than anywhere else. In Birmingham, there were a total of 1,292 assaults on police officers, with over half of these assaults so serious that they left the officer injured.

A National Police Council spokesman said: “The health and wellbeing of our workforce is a top priority for all chief constables and we are constantly listening to feedback from those on the ground.

“Policing is a stressful job and officers can be exposed to some of the most difficult situations in life, which is why they are specially trained to try to reduce the risk to themselves and others.

“Attacks on our frontline workers are absolutely deplorable and what makes these figures even more unacceptable is the fact that officers are doing harm when they are trying to keep others and the wider community safe. These figures highlight the reality many officers face every day and it is only right that offenders are identified and brought before the courts to be prosecuted.

“We recognize the challenges of the role and the impact it can have on our workforce, which is why we work closely with Oscar Kilo, the National Police Welfare Service (NPWS), which provides support and guidance to police forces in England and Wales to improve and build organizational wellbeing by working in partnership with charities and staff associations.

“Wellbeing management is an open process and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure the workforce remains robust, resilient and ask for support when needed.”

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