Member's statement: Police: Assaults on Officers
Member's statement by Mr Keith Buchanan on .
- MLA
- Mr Keith Buchanan
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 15 September 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Police: Assaults on Officers
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5705473
Read the official Assembly record
Text
In our society, too many people now treat the police with open contempt, and that culture has been allowed to grow unchecked. We have seen 850 assaults on officers recorded in just 12 months. Assault on a police officer is not part of a police officer's job; it is a crime. At the Policing Board two weeks ago, in answer to a question from me, the Chief Constable made it crystal clear:
"The level of assaults against officers in the PSNI is far and above what I’ve experienced elsewhere."
He went further, stating that PSNI officers here are more likely to wait to be assaulted before taking action, while officers in other UK forces take a proactive stance when faced with a threat. Why do we think that is? It is not a policing problem; it is a societal problem. A lot has been said in the past week about Tasers. We need to protect our police officers when they are doing their job. Some have hyped the new T10 Taser, but the facts matter: it is not yet in operational use. Currently, only armed response teams carry Tasers. While assaults on officers are at a record level, some people are arguing about equipment that most front-line officers do not have. That is not good enough. If we expect officers to protect the public, we must protect our officers with proper resources, clear guidance and real consequences for anyone who attacks them. Anything less is failing in our duty. A society that asks officers to stand between danger and the public but denies them the tools to defend themselves is failing in its responsibility.
Some Members in the Chamber do not seem to care about such assaults; indeed, some previously actively supported the campaign to murder officers, and, according to others, "There was no alternative". Others expect officers to hand out sweets — hand out sweets — when they are being attacked. You are now crafting a society that has no respect for the law and no respect for others. There must be consequences for attacks on police officers. I say to the PSNI, "Give your officers what they need to defend themselves. Do what is right. Defend your officers. Play your part in building a respectful society". Our officers deserve better. Our communities deserve better.
386 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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