THERE were more than 400 assaults on police officer last year, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has shown.

Devon and Cornwall Police recorded 454 assaults on its officers in 2024, the FOI shows.

This was less than the year prior, which saw 670 assaults.

In 2022, there were 765 reports of officers being assaulted while on duty.

An assault on a police officer falls under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018

A conviction for assaulting a police officer attracts a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a minimum sentence of a low-level community order.