This year alone, 21 vehicles have required repairs at an estimated cost of £140,000.
The Deputy Chief Constable has condemned the “shocking and disgusting attacks” on officers as the PSNI today revealed the number of assaults on police and vehicles rammed in the past year.
They include one female officer tending to a detained patient, who was HIV positive, and now faces months of worry and medicated treatment after blood was sprayed directly into her face and eyes.
DCC Bobby Singleton is calling for respect to be shown to officers whose aim is to keep communities safe from harm.
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Between October 1 2024 to September 30 this year, there were 2,630 assaults on officers across Northern Ireland. And this calendar year there have been more than 100 reported incidents of police vehicles being rammed. This year alone, 21 vehicles have required repairs at an estimated cost of £140,000.
The PSNI says it’s introducing a dash-cam pilot scheme in south area next month, with the aim of deterring ramming incidents, keeping officers safe and importantly enhance criminal justice outcomes when offenders weaponise vehicles against them. The force says it’s in the latter stages of planning for the pilot.
DCC Singleton said: “Most vehicle-ramming incidents occur as a result of individuals attempting to evade police or avoid arrest. This can be for a range of offences, from no insurance to more serious offending like robbery or assault.
“In these cases offenders are, in essence, using their vehicle as a weapon against us, and this is a scary and traumatising experience for any police officer to go through. It is a testament to the courage of our people that they will put themselves in situations where they are at risk, in order to protect communities from harm.
“In addition, damage to police vehicles is a cost that is increasingly hard to meet. It often results in an emergency vehicle being off the road for repairs and not available to attend to 999 calls when lives can be in danger.”
Mr Singleton says it’s been a busy few months with police working hard to respond to calls for assistance and keeping the communities safe.
He added: “Unfortunately, a number of officers have been subjected to disgraceful and, quite frankly, disgusting behaviour being assaulted whilst simply doing their job.
“Assaults ranged from being pushed, kicked, and bitten and blood being spat at them, while one officer was sexually assaulted. A number of people have been arrested following these incidents and they will proceed through the criminal justice system.
“It should never be accepted as ‘part of the job’ for anyone to be punched, kicked or spat at. Police officers come to work knowing that it’s a tough calling but they should expect to be able to do their duties without fear of attack.
“The Chief Constable recently spoke on this issue at the launch of the Police Federation’s ‘Let them Protect’ campaign in June, which highlights not only the impact these assaults have on the officers themselves but also on our communities, who need us to be ready to respond and support them in their times of need.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have the policing that we do in Northern Ireland but we cannot continue to take that policing for granted. Support for policing, and for our police officers, needs to be society wide, and it should be recognised and understood that it is simply not acceptable to assault or attack police officers.
“We cannot, and will not, simply stand by and accept it.”
Elaine McCormill, Police Federation for Northern Ireland, said: “Every year, we have hundreds of officers who are the victims of assault. Injuries are wide-ranging, but the bottom line is it is not part of the job and those who engage in such reprehensible behaviour against officers need to face punitive deterrent penalties through our courts
“Our recent ‘Let Them Protect’ campaign aimed to raise awareness of the extent of the problem that our men and women are confronted with on a daily basis. In an organisation that is currently approaching 900 officers below the Recovery Plan figure, and at least 1,900 below what it should be, every officer who is forced off work due to sustaining injury is an officer neither we nor the public can afford to see.
“There must be a lot more awareness of, and praise for, the invaluable and often dangerous work officers are doing in the communities. We also need to see greater support from community leaders, politicians and the judiciary when our officers are the subject of attack.
“It was very fortunate that officers in the recent vehicle ramming attacks were not seriously injured. Our colleagues will continue to police without fear or favour and will not in any way be deflected or intimidated from doing their jobs by the reckless actions of those who want to cause them harm.”
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