WAPU president Dave Flaherty repeats calls to crack down on offenders as rate of assaults on cops rises

The WA Police Union says assaults on cops have reached “crisis point” after the Government claimed quicker response times putting those on the front line in harm’s way. Speaking after The West Australian revealed Police Commissioner Col Blanch’s growing concern over climbing assault rates against his officers, WAPU president Dave Flaherty repeated calls for the judiciary to get tougher on offenders. Crime data reveals there were 1556 assaults recorded in 2024 — more than four a day — which was the most since records began. “The WA Police Union is well aware that assaults on our officers are at a crisis point,” Mr Flaherty said. “We have been raising the alarm for years about the increasing violence faced by our members, and it’s unacceptable that assaults have now reached a two-decade high. “Our officers are being attacked every six hours. That is completely intolerable. We need urgent action, not more concern, not more commentary.” Mr Flaherty repeated the Union’s call following the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions to abandon an appeal against a juvenile who was given no punishment for the assault of a police officer outside Optus Stadium. “The justice system must start delivering real consequences for those who assault police,” he said. “Lenient responses only encourage offenders. The WA Police Union will continue to demand stronger protections, tougher penalties, and the respect our members deserve.” Speaking on Thursday, Police Minister Reece Whitby said the alarming rise in police assaults stemmed from faster response times and officers arriving at active crime scenes. “Police in this state put their lives on the line every single day to keep West Australian safer. It is unacceptable. It is an outrage. It is unacceptable to assault a police officer,” he said. “This government has done more than any other to support our police — we’ve invested millions of dollars on body worn cameras. They’re actually capturing more and more incidents. “We’ve got more police than ever before on the beat. They’re responding quicker than they’ve ever been have before. “They’re getting to the scenes of bad things happening, and they’re putting themselves in the line of fire more often.” Mr Whitby said the vast majority of people respect our police. “Police know that we have their back as Minister, I have their back, and we have done there’s not a government in the history of this State that’s done more to protect police than us,” he said. Shadow police minister Adam Hort dismissed questions that the rise showed mandatory sentencing for assaults against public officers was not working. “We need to look at all the options available. What is the cause of the increase in this these assaults on our police,” he said. “I’ve been to a number . . . of different community crime forums right across Perth, and what our police are saying to the community, and what they’re saying to me in my meetings with them, is up to 60 per cent of their time is spent on mental health cases spent (and) family domestic violence. “They’ve got concerns also about youth recidivism. So are these increases the reasons we’re seeing extra assaults on police? This is the kind of data that we need to see. So “Before we jump to solutions, we need to know what the data is showing us . . . and we need to listen to the police. We need to listen to the community.”