June 06, 2025 | Human Resources , Officer and Staff: Health and Wellbeing (Including Sick Absences and Retirement)
Request Number: FOI/14668
Category: Human Resources - Health and Wellbeing
Subject: Clarification Regarding Attacks On Officers 1995 - 2025
Request and Answer:
Your request for information has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Act we can confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland does hold some information to which your request relates and this is being provided to you.
We do not however hold information in relation to request number 3 below. We have also provided you with links to guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office which we have followed in responding to your request.
Request Details
Thank you again for your response to my recent Freedom of Information request FOI/13727, it is much appreciated. I just wanted to write back with a few queries about the data, if that is ok.
Upon reviewing the data, I noticed a significant and unexpected increase in the overall number of recorded attacks over the reported time period. In order to better understand and interpret these figures accurately, I would be grateful if you could kindly provide clarification on the following points:
Request 1
Definition of "Attacks":
Could you please clarify how "attacks" are defined in this context? What specifically constitutes an attack under your recording criteria, and what does not? Additionally, have there been any changes to this definition or the recording process over the period covered by the data?
Answer 1
As noted in request FOI/13727 the data provided was for “Assaults” held on the Form 23/10, which are submitted by officers / staff. The PSNI do not define or have a specific category in relation to “Attacks on Officers”. An “Attack” on an officer could encompass a variety of categories of incident as recorded within our accident management data base.
Request 2
Inclusion of Verbal Attacks:
Are verbal or non-physical attacks included within these figures, or are the statistics limited strictly to physical incidents?
Answer 2
As noted in request FOI/13727 the data provided was for “Assaults” held on the Form 23/10, which are submitted by officers / staff. “Assaults” can include verbal or non-physical assaults.
Request 3
Apparent Increase in Recorded Attacks:
Do you have any insight or explanation as to why the number of recorded attacks has risen so significantly during the time period in question? Could this be due to a change in reporting practices, improved recording systems, or any other factor?
Answer 3
It is our opinion this is not a valid FOI request by virtue of being general question, and not request for information held. Section 84 of FOIA relates to recorded information held by a public authority and a public authority is not obliged to create information for the purpose of FOI and/or speculate and/or provide an opinion which would not be regarded as recorded information.
"Information is defined in section 84 of the Act as 'information recorded in any form'. The Act therefore only extends to requests for recorded information. It does not require public authorities (in this case the PSNI) to answer questions generally; only if they already hold the answers in recorded form. The Act does not extend to requests for information about policies or their implementation, or the merits or demerits of any proposal or action - unless, of course, the answer to any such request is already held in recorded form." (Day vs ICO & DWP – EA/2006/0069 Final Decision)
Accordingly, we have determined that the Police Service of Northern Ireland does not hold the information to which you seek access.
Request 4
Severity Categorisation:
Does the PSNI categorise attacks by severity (e.g., serious vs. non-serious)? If so, could you kindly provide any available data or clarification on how this categorisation is made?
Any further context or detail you could provide would be extremely helpful in interpreting the trends and understanding the apparent increase before I submit my dissertation in a couple of weeks.
Answer 4
As noted in request FOI/13727 the data provided was for “Assaults” held on the Form 23/10, which are submitted by officers / staff. The Accident Reporting System does not categorises incidents as serious or non-serious but enables categorisation of any incidents as Injury, Near Miss or Ill Health.