Victory in campaign over police assaults

John Apter, chairman of Hampshire Police Federation, started working with the force to tackle the way such assaults were treated.

Mr Apter has also been demanding the Home Office gathers more accurate data about the number of assaults.

Currently forces provide figures from health and safety logs, not recorded crime data.

Now the Home Office has asked forces for crime data figures, which Mr Apter said will show a huge increase in the number of assaults, due to improved recording.

For 2015/16 it will be mandatory for forces to give the usual figures, but will also be optional to provide crime data.

Mr Apter said ‘the pressure now is on forces across England and Wales’ to provide the figures.

He said: ‘If they want a true and accurate picture of the level of violence being used against their officers and staff on a daily basis then they are morally obliged to make sure that that data is passed across to the Home Office.’

Hampshire revealed such assaults have increased to 1,021 between April 1, 2015 and February 29 this year.

The year before there were 1,007 assaults registered.