There have been 41 prosecutions for assaults on police officers in the past 12 months.

An Isle of Man Newspapers Freedom of Information request revealed the figures from August 2019 up to the start of this month.

The constabulary’s response to our FoI showed that 34 people, who were arrested for assault on police, have been, or will be, prosecuted for assault on police officers.

Of those 41 prosecution cases, five people have been prosecuted more than once, three twice and two on three occasions.

In their response, the police said that in order to for an assault on an officer to be recorded as such, the officer must have been assaulted while in the execution of their duties as a police officer.

There is no requirement to hold the level of injury but it is believed that most assaults do not reach the threshold for higher assaults such as wounding or grievous bodily harm.

A total of 39 people have been arrested for assaults on police officers, five people have been arrested more than once, three twice and two on three occasions. The total number of arrests is 46.

Superintendent Steve Maddocks (left) told the Manx Independent: ’People who assault officers in the execution of their duty will be dealt with robustly and if the threshold for a prosecution is met, they will almost always find themselves before the courts.

’The vast majority of our community are supportive of the police and have, only recently, assisted officers making an arrest in Port Erin. This matter is still being investigated and once it is complete, I will be able to comment further.

’The constabulary equips our officers with training and protective equipment in order to deal with violent and hostile situations and we will continue to support our teams policing our island.’