THE BOYS IN BLACK AND BLUE

Assaults on cops stand at 10-year high according to shock new report, Call for thugs convicted of police violence to be denied early release

- NORMAN SILVESTER

A RECORD number of attacks were carried out on cops by the public last year, a shock report reveals.

Figures released by Police Scotland under Freedom of Information show police assaults are at a 10-year high.

Now calls have been made to stop early release from prison for thugs jailed for attacking police officers.

Chief Superintendent Rob Hay, President of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, said: "These figures while they seem really shocking are a day to day reality for officers on the frontline of policing.

"Scotland's police officers are more at risk of being assaulted than ever before. It shouldn't be something we simply accept as a society.

"Every single officer at some point or another will be assaulted. We owe something more to them, to protect them." In 2024, there were 8068 attacks compared with 6344 in 2015 - a rise of almost 30 per cent.

The figures for last year are also higher than the 7971 cop attacks in 2023 and 7460 in 2022. In the first eight months of this year there were 5948 assaults - a higher monthly average than 2024's record high.

The Scottish Police Federation, which represents frontline cops, has launched a campaign calling for prisoners convicted of cop attacks to be exempted from the Scottish Government's early release scheme.

They have also written to the leaders of the main Scottish political parties asking them to make that a manifesto commitment in next year's election.