The amount of assaults on emergency workers has increased again in the last 12 months with many workers being spat on, head butted and kicked. There were 1,421 assaults in the six-month period between January to June 2022, up from 1,396 in the same period last year, representing a 1.8% increase, new figures have revealed.
Assaults ranged from slapping, scratching, spitting and verbal abuse to punching, biting, kicking and head-butting. Seven incidents involved a weapon, and more than a quarter of assaults resulted in injury. This means that emergency workers in Wales recieved injuries more that 355 times in the last six months. That is almost two a day.
The local authorities with the highest rates of assaults compared to population was Wrexham followed by Denbighshire. Both areas have seen notable increases when compared with the 12 months to June 2021, with Wrexham rising from 98 incidents to 164 (up 66) and Denbighshire increasing from 82 incidents to 115 (up 33).
