City's police under attack | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

Assaults on city police are rising and the number of people charged are just a fraction of those attacking officers on duty.

Rotorua Police Association chairman Scott Thompson says some people think it's acceptable to treat police badly.

"The problem seems to be there's been an acceptance by a certain part of society that to assault police is acceptable," he told The Daily Post.

Mr Thompson said this was borne out by the recent attack on police in Christchurch, where two officers were shot and wounded and a police dog was shot dead during a routine call to a house from which a man emerged with a rifle and fired at police.

"[Assaults on police] seems to have crept in. It starts with the smallest thing, from verbal abuse, spitting, to damaging police property," Mr Thompson said.

"The unfortunate thing is it has escalated over the last number of years."

Crime statistics feature three assaults on Rotorua police in June 2010, compared with one in June 2009.

"There are probably a lot more than [the three reported in June]," Mr Thompson said.

"Those three are probably the ones where someone has been charged."

A simple push was technically an assault but many police officers would not charge someone for something like that, he said.

"Any reported figures are probably low for that reason.

"It's a concern because everyone should be able to go to work without expecting to be injured."

Rotorua police area commander Inspector Bruce Horne said serious violence against police had definitely increased and was a concern.

"We are seeing offenders engaged in criminal activity more often responding more violently to police interventions."

National Police Association president Greg O'Connor has called for every field sergeant to be permanently armed with firearms and for firearms to be readily accessible in every patrol vehicle for frontline police.

Mr O'Connor has said the increase in shootings like the one in Christchurch matched the fact that more dangerous offenders were now carrying weapons. Searches during traffic stops or house warrants were routinely turning up not only P or cannabis, but also firearms, he said.

There were 23 assaults on police in the Bay of Plenty in June 2010, compared with 27 for the same month last year. Nationally, there were 170 assaults on police officers last month compared with 212 in June 2009.

Justice Minister Simon Power is to introduce legislation to Parliament that would make judges consider a harsher sentence for attacks on police or Corrections officers.

- additional reporting by

APN News & Media