THE number of assaults against Devon & Cornwall Police officers has decreased three years in a row.

According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, 452 officers were assaults while on duty in 2024/25 (March to April).

The year prior, 616 were assaulted and 756 in 2022/23.

The data shows that the number of assaults have dropped consecutively for the past three years.

The trend likely extends further back, with another FOI showing 846 and 936 assaults in 2022 and 2021 respectively.

An assault on a police officer, falls under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.

A conviction for assaulting a police officer attracts a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment and a minimum sentence of a low-level community order.