Merseyside Police officers missed 534 days of work after being assaulted by public

Mar 3 2010 by John Siddle, Formby Times

LOCAL police officers missed 534 days of work last year as a result of being assaulted on the beat.

The shock statistics reveal a 30% leap in assaults from 2008 – and a huge hike from 2004, when there were 195 recorded days lost at Merseyside Police due to injuries.

The figures come as fears grow of a lack of police vigilance following a spate of burglaries in Southport.

Ten houses were targeted in unlinked raids over ten days in and around the resort.

A total of 17,055 days were lost to injuries across police forces in England and Wales during 2008/09, compared to 15,338 in 2007/08, the figures, obtained by the Lib Dems, show.

Figures in 2008 showed that the annual bill for officers on long-term sick was £90m a year.LOCAL police officers missed 534 days of work last year as a result of being assaulted on the beat.