NSW Police assaults cost taxpayer $36 million in workers compensation over five years
Millions of dollars in workers compensation claims have been paid out to NSW Police officers assaulted on the frontline. SEE THE BILL TO TAXPAYERS HERE.
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Disgusting assaults on NSW Police officers have resulted in $36 million worth of workers compensation claims over the past five years.
The shocking cost to taxpayers comes as NSW Police and the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research reveal a massive 12,096 incidents of assaults against an officer were recorded between 2015 and 2019.
A Police Association of NSW spokesman said although assault numbers are “stable”, it “does not mean the current trend is acceptable, as it still means there are thousands of police officers who suffer assaults each year”.
“Every assault on police is one in which that officer might suffer physical and psychological
harm,” the spokesman said. “They might have injuries that take time to heal, require treatment and time off work.
“They might suffer psychological wounds that last a lifetime; trauma from violent incidents, fear that the job they love and do every day is not safe, and hypervigilance they cannot turn off when their shift ends.”
The association’s submission to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into police assaults revealed assault incidents were the leading cause of Workplace Health and Safety incidents —
making up 15 per cent of all incident notification reports from police officers and 13 per cent of all police officer workers compensation claims.
A massive 510,000 hours in time lost off work was also recorded between 2015 and 2019, with calls for the NSW Government “to develop strategies that reduce assaults on police, reduce the harm caused by assaults, and thereby mitigate time off work and costs to the NSWPF”.
Macquarie University Criminology lecturer Dr Alex Simpson said NSW Police needed to “promote training initiatives to help equip frontline officers with knowledge and understanding of both the community they serve and the challenges it faces”.
“The manner in which police enter certain communities and how they are equipped may also contribute towards a sense of alienation and being policed as opposed to protected,” Dr Simpson said.
“In recent years police have become increasingly ‘weaponised’, carrying a growing array of instruments of control, including Tasers, OC spray, firearms and body-warn cameras.
“While purposing to protect an officer or members of the wider community, there is the possibility that such equipment may be viewed by some members of the community, especially Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, as confrontational and may lead to an incitement of violence against police.”
A NSW Police spokeswoman said the number of workers compensation claims related to police assaults increased from 383 to 404 in five years, with the average cost of claim being $10,100 in the 2020 financial year.
“The health and safety of our police officers is paramount,” the spokeswoman said.
“They are on the frontline 24 hours a day, seven days a week, protecting the community — therefore, any violence against a police officer is simply unacceptable.
“As at 1 September, more than 1,600 officers have been assaulted in the line of duty in 2020, last year more than 2,500 officers were assaulted.