Surge in police officers on sick leave after attacks

Assault-related absences in Police Scotland have soared by more than a third in a year amid a rise in attacks on frontline officers – as the rollout of body cameras for officers is set to be delayed until the end of the year.

Senior leaders have also warned about a pause in safety training courses for officers as new figures submitted to the Scottish Police Authority's (SPA) people committee showed sickness absences due to assault rose by 36.2 per cent in the year to March compared to 2022/23.

Police Scotland refused to provide figures to show the exact number of officers forced to take sick leave after being assaulted.

Absence rates for Police Scotland officers that have been assaulted have risen by a third. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

A total of 6,702 assaults against officers or other police staff have been recorded over the period, according to the report to the SPA – an average of 18 per day.

Announcing the roll-out of body cams last year, Chief Constable Jo Farrell said the force would start the process of introducing the technology this summer. However, this may now be postponed until the end of the year.

Ms Farrell said at the time that bodycams, which are standard equipment in England and Wales, would “help to de-escalate incidents, improve public trust in policing and reduce complaints, support officer and staff safety, and bring wider benefits to the criminal justice system”.

However, a report from social justice magazine 1919 found the process of bridging the body-worn video camera technology with existing digital capabilities is the reason behind an anticipated delay in the rollout.

Police Scotland officers were due to get bodycams this summer.

Police Scotland awarded a £13.3 million contract to deliver 10,500 body-worn cameras over the next three years to Motorola Solutions, which follows a commitment from the Scottish Government.

David Threadgold, chair of the Scottish Police Federation, told 1919: “Police officers should not have to go to work to be assaulted. The minimum that you would expect is for employees to be trained to deal with it.

“There’s no doubt that when body-worn cameras are finally rolled out, we will see a reduction in assaults and officer absences. As we become less relevant and less present in our communities, the potential for more serious violence escalates.

“It is a bigger-scale example of the breakdown in intelligence gathering and community engagement that results in that level of violence and officers not being properly equipped to deal with it.

“You are never going to take assaults completely out of policing – it is the nature of what we do. But we need to improve the support for assaulted officers and ensure facilities are in place to help them return to work quickly.”

Safety training courses were postponed between December and January to deploy staff for frontline duties during the busy Christmas and New Year period. Between 1,200 and 1,400 individuals did not receive officer safety training for a month, sparking fears that officers could be at greater risk of injury while on duty.

Chief Superintendent Rob Hay, president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS), which represents the senior operational leaders of Scottish police officers in the ranks of superintendent and chief superintendent, told an SPA hearing that he believed there was a link between the rise in assaults and the delay in training.

“When you look at the number of assaults that have gone up, and the fact that the likelihood of injury associated with that is more severe, you could directly attribute that to the fact that we chose to pause that training for a month,” he said. “What we should reflect on is any decision to pause officer safety training is likely to have the effect of officers being assaulted, and those assaults are more likely to result in them being injured.

“And that’s where in future we might want to consider very carefully any decision to potentially pause that essential training.”

The SPA report also showed injuries from assault fell to 1,408 last year. Bruising and inflammation accounted for nearly half of cases, followed by abrasions and grazes, and cuts and lacerations.

Bites accounted for 12 per cent of injuries, while incidents of exposure to body fluid – such as officers being spat upon – accounted for 7 per cent.Separately, the force’s latest workforce annual report reveals there were 5,439 assaults in the twelve months to March — up 16.2 per cent from the 4,682 recorded in the previous year, and a 16.8 per cent increase from the 4,657 assaults in April 2021 to March 2022.

It also noted increased grievances and stress-related leave, contributing to a total absence cost among officers and staff of £74 million in the past year.

Critics warned a delay in the bodycam rollout could lead to more officer absences due to increased assaults.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Russell Findlay said: “Scotland’s police officers have been left behind and deprived of this vital protective kit for far too long because of SNP cuts and their neglect of policing. The justice secretary must explain any further delays to the long overdue delivery of body-worn cameras.”

It comes as Holyrood’s justice committee backed a Bill aiming to reform the police complaints process, but questioned the extent of the legislation’s impact.

The Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill would expand the powers of the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) as well as place a duty of candour on officers and on Police Scotland as a whole.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Chief Constable has made very clear that the national introduction of body-worn video is a priority for Police Scotland, and we welcomed the announcement earlier this month that the contract to implement it has been awarded.

“The Chief Constable provided an update to the SPA board on June 27 highlighting the complexity of the project and committing to work at pace with Motorola Solutions to ensure that it is embedded effectively for frontline officers and staff as soon as possible. She committed to sharing further details on rollout with the SPA board as progress is made."

Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: "We send a clear and consistent message from police leaders that assaults on police officers and members of police staff are absolutely unacceptable, that it is not part of any job to be assaulted and that it is important that we report assaults.

"There has been a year on year increase of reported assaults against officers and staff in 2023/24. It is something that we keep under close review, to ensure we are doing all we can to support our people.”