Significant increase in number of police officers injured at wor

Police at work.Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB scanpix

594 police employees were injured in service in 2018, which is an increase of 33% from the previous year according to an HSE report.

The HSE report from the police’s occupational health service that
Aftenposten newspaper have been given access to also shows that the number of arrests for violence against police officers increased by 13.6% to 1,457 cases.

200 of the 594 police officers injured in service last year were injured
during arrest or search of suspects. In addition, 37 were injured during
a presentation to court hearings and courts.

The report showed that there are major differences between police districts. Most officials were injured in the Southwestern and Western Police Districts. In both Bergen and Stavanger, more police injuries were reported than in Oslo, even though the capital’s police district has far more employees.

‘’We’re worried. This is too high. If this is due to changed registration
routines, lower thresholds for reporting violence or tougher work teams on assignments we don’t know. My impression is that respect for the police has diminished’’ said Per Anders Røsjorde, local branch managerat the Police Joint Federation in the Southwestern Police District to Aftenposten.

In addition to police officers being injured in service, one in four injuries occurred during training. The police are required to participate in at least 48 hours of training exercises a year.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

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