Almost 1,000 reported assaults on police officers in Leicestershire last year

Almost 1,000 assaults on police officers were reported in Leicestershire last year. The vast majority of these – 594 out of 920 – happened in Leicester itself and 147 of the incidents in the city resulted in an officer being injured.

Figures for 2023 released by the Government also show that such incidents are increasing both locally and nationally. Across the city and county in 2021, there were 809 reported assaults on police officers in Leicestershire.

Of these, 553 were in the city. In 2022 there was a slight increase to 825 reports locally, with 512 in Leicester.

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Across the county, Charnwood consistently had the highest number of reports of all districts and boroughs. There were 89 incidents in 2021, 99 in 2022 and 89 last year. You can see all the figures for your local area in the interactive map below.

In August last year local officer Pc Jagruti Chhaganlal was on duty in Beaumanor Road, Leicester, when she was violently attacked by James Nutting. Nutting, 44, of Beaumanor Road, Leicester, punched and then kicked her several times as she lay on the floor before walking away. He later pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and was jailed for three years and six months in February.

Speaking after the case, Leicestershire Chief Constable Rob Nixon spoke about the attacks on officers. He said: “This violent attack on one of our officers while on duty has left me deeply disturbed and reflective about the unacceptable nature of attacks on police officers. This incident is a stark reminder of the risks they face every day as they work tirelessly to serve and protect the community.

“It is completely unacceptable that those who dedicate their lives to keeping us safe should be subjected to abuse and violence in the line of duty. As a community, we should stand together against such heinous acts and ensure that any attack on an emergency worker is swiftly prosecuted.”

He also issued a message to emergency workers, saying: “I want to reassure all emergency workers that all reports are taken seriously and we will not just accept them as something that comes with the job. As this case demonstrates, those responsible will be prosecuted and prosecuted.

“I would urge communities to support this as we need to create an environment where emergency workers feel safe and supported to carry out their duties for our benefit. The dedication and courage shown by police officers and other emergency workers should be appreciated and honoured, not met with violence. It is essential that we together send a strong signal that this type of behavior is unacceptable.”

Last year, there were more than 44,000 assaults in England and Wales, with one in four assaults 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.

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.”