Attacks on Scotland’s cops are at record levels as they battle a rising tide of gangland violence, street protests and public disorder.
Shock new figures released by Police Scotland show the number of assaults have risen by almost five percent in the last year, from 7172 to 7509.
In some areas like Lanarkshire the numbers were up by almost 28 percent.
Across Scotland attacks on police officers are happening at a rate of more than 20 a day – almost one every hour.
Police Scotland are currently investigating the attempted murder of two police officers in Larkhall in South Lanarkshire, when a white van was deliberately driven at them last month.
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The two men, aged 43 and 41, were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
David Threadgold, Chair of the Scottish Police Federation, which represents most of the country’s cops, said the figures showing 20 plus attacks a day were shocking.
He added: “Police Officers should not expect to go to work and be assaulted particularly at the current rates.
“This is having an impact on colleagues as we have record sickness rates at the moment in the organisation and that just puts more pressure on everyone within it.
“We also have another 2500 officers who are on modified or restricted duties, some of them as a result of being assaulted.
“There is also the psychological impact of being assaulted with such frequency.
“We have some real societal challenges at the moment with protests.
“We have an ever declining resource that is trying to service an ever increasing demand.”
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The Scottish Police Federation would like to see the numbers of officers issued with Tasers increased from the current 2000 to around 6500.
They are also hoping that the introduction of body worn cameras will act as an extra deterrent to future assaults.
Mr Threadgold added:”What we want is police officers in Scotland to have the best opportunity to keep themselves safe and the public safe. At the moment we are not there.
“They are worn out and broken and nobody performs well when they are in that situation.”
Last year three men were charged with the attempted murders of cops in Dumfries, Clydebank and Greenock. In the Dumfries incident in July, a 26-year-old allegedly drove his car at an officer, who was seriously injured.
In Greenock the following month, the officer suffered stab wounds and also needed hospital treatment.”
In March last year Operation Portaledge was launched to counteract gangland violence across Scotland – including fire bombings and machete attacks – linked to the long running feud between the Lyons and Daniel crime families.
Police also attended 2,190 demos in 2025 — a 19 per cent rise on 2024’s total – with many linked to protests and counter protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers.
There was also violence in Glasgow city-centre and Glasgow Green earlier this month during an anti immigration rally that was met with a counter anti-racism protest.
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Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said the force would not tolerate violence against their cops.
He added:”I want to highlight the bravery of our officers who respond to incidents and deploy when we see disorder and who at times put themselves in harms way to protect the public.
“The injuries sustained by two in Lanarkshire at the weekend were significant.
“These are examples of the terrible violence that our officers experience only too frequently.
“Over the years we have had strong focus on imposing a clear message that violence is not part part of our job and we are taking action to reduce the impact of assaults on our people.
“Where violence does occur we want to give out people the best possible support and have professional investigations which achieve strong outcomes.”