More than a dozen BTP officers attacked every week
In wake of ?terror-related? stabbing, shameful figures reveal 1,939 reported assaults in last three yearsOfficers attacked monitoring Britain's transport networks are returning to duty early to take the pressure off under-resourced front lines, it has emerged.
More than a dozen officers a week are being attacked in what British Transport Police describes as a “shocking reflection” of the risks the service faces while “trying to keep others safe”.
BTP Federation Chairman Nigel Goodband blasted the 1,939 reported assaults resulting in 230 injuries over the last three years as a “shameful” expose of violence against officers.
New figures, revealed in Freedom of Information requests, include 17 assaults at Manchester Victoria station, where a BTP officer was stabbed in the shoulder in a terror-related incident on New Year's Eve.
A 25-year-old man is being held under the Mental Health Act on suspicion of attempted murder after a British Transport Police sergeant in his 30s and two commuters – a man and woman in their 50s – were taken to hospital with knife injuries.
The latest statistics saw Leeds station in West Yorkshire with the greatest number of assaults, with 66 incidents between 2015 and 2018.
London Victoria came second, with 60, closely followed by Manchester Piccadilly with 56 attacks in the last three years, the force said.
A large number of assaults were also reported at other stations in the capital, with 48 at Stratford in east London, 44 at St Pancras International, and Euston, Waterloo and Liverpool Street stations saw 43, 42, and 39 incidents respectively.
Glasgow Central station saw the most assaults of any station outside England with 38.
Overall, assaults on BTP officers were recorded at more than 500 locations, including level crossings, hospitals and in custody, with 226 incidents of actual bodily harm, and a further 13 more serious grievous bodily harm offences.
One BTP officer who was attacked on duty explained he felt the need to quickly return to work because his absence cut his team's manpower by a third.
PC Adam Heslop was punched in the face when responding to a routine call in Lancaster in March 2017.
He said: "The longer I was away, the longer the cases would build up.
"I'm going to have to investigate them anyway, I may as well do them now.
"It's the first time in nine years of policing that somebody had succeeded in punching me. I didn't expect it at all and I felt a bit useless."
His attacker was charged with actual bodily harm, given a curfew and ordered to pay £85, but the officer said he does not think the sentence discourages offending.
"I know better than to expect justice from the courts when it comes to police assaults," he said.
"She thought nothing of assaulting me and wasn't really inconvenienced by the court's sentencing."
Mr Goodband said: "Violence against police officers is shocking and shameful, and being assaulted on duty is not simply 'part of the job'.
"It is wholly unacceptable that people who serve to protect their communities should face senseless violence while doing so.
"The minority who commit these offences must be made to face the consequences of their actions."
BTP Superintendent Darren Malpas called the figures a "shocking revelation", adding: "Attacks on officers will not be tolerated and every assault is one too many.
"These figures are a shocking reflection of the risks officers face while trying to keep others safe.
"Thankfully we police a CCTV-rich environment, and our officers are equipped with body-worn cameras, which means we have a variety of evidence available to bring offenders before the courts."
News Archive
- December 2023 (3)
- November 2023 (5)
- October 2023 (4)
- September 2023 (5)
- August 2023 (4)
- July 2023 (3)
- June 2023 (5)
- May 2023 (2)
- April 2023 (5)
- March 2023 (3)
- February 2023 (7)
- January 2023 (11)
- December 2022 (6)
- November 2022 (5)
- October 2022 (5)
- September 2022 (6)
- August 2022 (2)
- July 2022 (11)
- June 2022 (8)
- May 2022 (11)
- April 2022 (8)
- March 2022 (3)
- February 2022 (5)
- January 2022 (12)
- December 2021 (1)
- November 2021 (9)
- October 2021 (4)
- September 2021 (10)
- August 2021 (9)
- July 2021 (12)
- June 2021 (4)
- May 2021 (11)
- April 2021 (14)
- March 2021 (14)
- February 2021 (19)
- January 2021 (18)
- December 2020 (6)
- November 2020 (12)
- October 2020 (14)
- September 2020 (15)
- August 2020 (16)
- July 2020 (16)
- June 2020 (18)
- May 2020 (22)
- April 2020 (18)
- March 2020 (23)
- February 2020 (20)
- January 2020 (4)
- December 2019 (5)
- November 2019 (6)
- October 2019 (5)
- September 2019 (6)
- August 2019 (8)
- July 2019 (6)
- June 2019 (8)
- May 2019 (8)
- April 2019 (8)
- March 2019 (10)
- February 2019 (9)
- January 2019 (9)
- December 2018 (9)
- November 2018 (12)
- October 2018 (8)
- September 2018 (7)
- August 2018 (11)
- July 2018 (7)
- June 2018 (9)
- May 2018 (9)
- April 2018 (12)
- March 2018 (10)
- February 2018 (8)
- January 2018 (5)
- December 2017 (6)
- November 2017 (4)
- October 2017 (3)
- September 2017 (10)
- August 2017 (5)
- July 2017 (5)
- June 2017 (6)
- May 2017 (6)
- April 2017 (2)
- March 2017 (3)
- February 2017 (4)
- January 2017 (1)
- December 2016 (3)
- November 2016 (4)
- October 2016 (1)
- September 2016 (4)
- August 2016 (4)
- July 2016 (1)
- June 2016 (5)
- May 2016 (3)
- April 2016 (1)
- March 2016 (3)
- February 2016 (3)
- January 2016 (3)
- December 2015 (3)
- November 2015 (3)
- October 2015 (3)
- September 2015 (2)
- August 2015 (1)
- July 2015 (11)
- June 2015 (1)