❓ WA Police Force reports on assaults against officers, revealing increasing numbers across districts. Data on injury severity and compensation is limited due to data collection methods and eligibility restrictions.
AnsweredQoN 544Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) For each of the financial years 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, and year-to-date 2025–26, how many assaults on WA Police officers were recorded, broken down by police district? (2) For each year in (1), how many of those assaults resulted in: (a) physical injury requiring medical treatment; (b) hospitalisation; (c) lost time from work; and (d) a workers' compensation claim? (3) What measures or programs are currently in place to reduce assaults on police officers, including protective equipment, training, deployment strategies, or legislative changes? (4) For each of the financial years since 2021–22, how much has been paid in workers’ compensation, damages, or other claims arising from assaults on police officers?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 October 2025
Responded by
Minister for Police
Response time
7 days
(1) Statistics for ‘Assault Police Officer’ offences include all offences categorised as assault in standard crime statistics reporting (e.g., wounding, grievous bodily harm, common assault).
The number of recorded offences for a period comprises all offences reported to or becoming known to police during that period and may include offences committed during earlier periods.
Table 1. Number of offences where the offence category is ‘Assault Police Officer’ reported between 01 July 2021 to 16 September 2025.
Police District
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
2025-26 YTD*
ARMADALE
71
83
82
83
22
CANNINGTON
65
85
103
132
32
FREMANTLE
65
94
79
116
26
GOLDFIELDS-ESPERANCE
87
78
91
88
28
GREAT SOUTHERN
35
32
36
41
6
JOONDALUP
45
66
74
69
18
KIMBERLEY
120
185
175
197
31
MANDURAH
53
81
86
84
20
MID WEST-GASCOYNE
85
134
129
103
22
MIDLAND
68
70
74
70
22
MIRRABOOKA
96
51
100
89
21
PERTH
262
265
239
286
45
PILBARA
74
151
146
129
22
SOUTH WEST
47
51
58
68
8
WHEATBELT
38
25
39
30
2
GRAND TOTAL
1,211
1,451
1,511
1,585
325
*2025-26 YTD is from 01 July 2025 to 16 September 2025
(2)
(a - c) The Western Australia Police Force is unable to provide a response, as the data on the severity of injury, hospitalisation, or lost time from work as a result of assaults on officers cannot be determined in a reliable and systematic manner. Extracting this information would require an intensive manual review of each individual case file, which would divert significant resources away from operational priorities.
(d) Police officers are not eligible for workers’ compensation under the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 .
(3) The WA Police Force employs a comprehensive approach to reduce assaults on officers through training, equipment, deployment strategies, and legislative measures. Officers receive operational safety training under the Situational Tactical Options Model (STOM), which promotes risk assessment, de-escalation, and appropriate tactical responses. Protective measures include body armour, gloves, safety glasses, and robust uniforms, with helmets, shields, and spit hoods available for high-risk situations. Body Worn Cameras are deployed to deter assaults and capture evidence. Officers have access to tactical options such as ‘Empty Hand Control’, Taser, Glock pistol, OC spray, extendable baton and restraints, supported by risk-based deployment and specialist units for high-threat environments. Legislative reforms under the Criminal Code 1913 have increased penalties for assaulting police, up to seven years’ imprisonment or ten years if armed or in company, with mandatory minimum sentences for bodily harm. Over the last three years, there has been a focus on roster patterns to maximise response officer numbers, particularly at night time, contributing to improved officer safety through back-up availability. However, maximising the numbers of these Police Officers, at these times, also means Police Officers are responding in a timely manner to calls from the community, and in many occasions are attending tasks where the presence of violence is highly prominent.
(4) Police officers are not eligible for workers’ compensation under the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 .The WA Police Force does not maintain a consolidated record of payments specifically attributable to assaults on officers. Calculating the total amount paid in damages or other claims would require a manual review of individual cases across multiple financial years. The number of claims made by officers for Work Related Medical Claims for injuries as a result of ‘Assault by Person’ as per below:
Financial Year
Claim Decision (Accepted / Approved)
Accepted Claims (relating to Mandatory Disease Testing Process)
01 Jul 2021 - 30 Jun 2022
91
23
01 Jul 2022 - 30 Jun 2023
85
13
01 Jul 2023 - 30 Jun 2024
102
100
01 Jul 2024 - 30 Jun 2025
167
56
01 Jul 2025 – 3 Sept 2025
24
8
TOTAL
469
200
The number of recorded offences for a period comprises all offences reported to or becoming known to police during that period and may include offences committed during earlier periods.
Table 1. Number of offences where the offence category is ‘Assault Police Officer’ reported between 01 July 2021 to 16 September 2025.
Police District
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
2025-26 YTD*
ARMADALE
71
83
82
83
22
CANNINGTON
65
85
103
132
32
FREMANTLE
65
94
79
116
26
GOLDFIELDS-ESPERANCE
87
78
91
88
28
GREAT SOUTHERN
35
32
36
41
6
JOONDALUP
45
66
74
69
18
KIMBERLEY
120
185
175
197
31
MANDURAH
53
81
86
84
20
MID WEST-GASCOYNE
85
134
129
103
22
MIDLAND
68
70
74
70
22
MIRRABOOKA
96
51
100
89
21
PERTH
262
265
239
286
45
PILBARA
74
151
146
129
22
SOUTH WEST
47
51
58
68
8
WHEATBELT
38
25
39
30
2
GRAND TOTAL
1,211
1,451
1,511
1,585
325
*2025-26 YTD is from 01 July 2025 to 16 September 2025
(2)
(a - c) The Western Australia Police Force is unable to provide a response, as the data on the severity of injury, hospitalisation, or lost time from work as a result of assaults on officers cannot be determined in a reliable and systematic manner. Extracting this information would require an intensive manual review of each individual case file, which would divert significant resources away from operational priorities.
(d) Police officers are not eligible for workers’ compensation under the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 .
(3) The WA Police Force employs a comprehensive approach to reduce assaults on officers through training, equipment, deployment strategies, and legislative measures. Officers receive operational safety training under the Situational Tactical Options Model (STOM), which promotes risk assessment, de-escalation, and appropriate tactical responses. Protective measures include body armour, gloves, safety glasses, and robust uniforms, with helmets, shields, and spit hoods available for high-risk situations. Body Worn Cameras are deployed to deter assaults and capture evidence. Officers have access to tactical options such as ‘Empty Hand Control’, Taser, Glock pistol, OC spray, extendable baton and restraints, supported by risk-based deployment and specialist units for high-threat environments. Legislative reforms under the Criminal Code 1913 have increased penalties for assaulting police, up to seven years’ imprisonment or ten years if armed or in company, with mandatory minimum sentences for bodily harm. Over the last three years, there has been a focus on roster patterns to maximise response officer numbers, particularly at night time, contributing to improved officer safety through back-up availability. However, maximising the numbers of these Police Officers, at these times, also means Police Officers are responding in a timely manner to calls from the community, and in many occasions are attending tasks where the presence of violence is highly prominent.
(4) Police officers are not eligible for workers’ compensation under the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 .The WA Police Force does not maintain a consolidated record of payments specifically attributable to assaults on officers. Calculating the total amount paid in damages or other claims would require a manual review of individual cases across multiple financial years. The number of claims made by officers for Work Related Medical Claims for injuries as a result of ‘Assault by Person’ as per below:
Financial Year
Claim Decision (Accepted / Approved)
Accepted Claims (relating to Mandatory Disease Testing Process)
01 Jul 2021 - 30 Jun 2022
91
23
01 Jul 2022 - 30 Jun 2023
85
13
01 Jul 2023 - 30 Jun 2024
102
100
01 Jul 2024 - 30 Jun 2025
167
56
01 Jul 2025 – 3 Sept 2025
24
8
TOTAL
469
200
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