Mr Katsambanis asks about the number of charges and instances of serious assault on police officers in WA from 2013-2019. The answer provides data on charges under Criminal Code Section 318, including assaults on public officers.

AnsweredQoN 4928Legislative Assembly
Asked
19 March 2019
Portfolio
Police; Road Safety

QuestionView source ↗

I refer the Minister to
serious assaults against Police Officers and ask: (a) How many people
have been charged, and/or instances where there were charges, for a serious assault on
a Police Officer ( Criminal Code Section 318 Serious Assault) in each of the
following years: (i) 2013; (ii) 2014; (iii) 2015; (iv) 2016; (v) 2017; (vi) 2018; and (vii) 2019?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
13 June 2019
Responded by
Minister for Police; Road Safety
Response time
20 days
The Western Australian Police advise:
2013                               816
2014                               792
2015                               848
2016                               926
2017                               969
2018                               994
2019 (up to 8 April 2019) 293
The number of charges under section 318(1)(d) of the Code in each year is as follows:
2013                              1 040
2014                              1 074
2015                              1 098
2016                              1 273
2017                              1 421
2018                              1 392
2019 (up to 8 April 2019)   392
Data is provisional and subject to revision. Persons charged per year is a count of unique persons charged under s. 318(1)(d) of the Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 (The Act). As such a person charged multiple times within a year would be counted once. A person charged in different years would be counted against each relevant year. Charges per year is a count of unique charges under ‘Assault Public Officer’ as defined in s. 318(1)(d) of The Act, where an associated brief has been created from 01 January 2013 to 08 April 2019 inclusive. Any person who assaults a public officer during the course of their duties, or on account of them being a public officer, is committing serious assault under s. 318(1)(d) of The Act. Section 318 of The Act does not refer to the assault of a police officer as distinct from other professions.  Assaults against police officers are considered an ‘Assault Public Officer’ offence under s. 318(1)(d) of The Act, which may encompass a wider range of public officer professions. Figures exclude charges where the associated brief or case has been deleted or where security caveats are in place.

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