An analysis by the Ministerial Statistical Service for Internal Security of the Ministry of the Interior published on Thursday 17 February shows that police officers and gendarmes are almost seven times more victims of physical violence than the average worker and more than twice as many victims of violence. verbal, for the period 2013-2018.
>> Last May, the government announced tougher penalties for attackers of police or gendarmes.
This is the profession most targeted by violence. 10.9% of police officers (municipal and national) and gendarmes were victims of physical violence over the period 2013-2018 and 31.2% victims of verbal attacks, against 1.6% and 14.3% on average for all people in employment in France.
The other professionals most targeted are the intermediate professions of health and social work (2.9% physical attacks and 20.9% verbal attacks), followed by school teachers, primary school teachers and the like (1. 6% and 18.2%).
This analysis is based on the Living Environments and Security surveys, which did not have a specific category for internal security forces before 2012. Law enforcement was included in the “Police, military and similar” category. The observation of the testimonies in this encompassing category reveals a greater increase in violence for the police, military and similar than for the other professions between the periods 2007-2012 and 2013-2018.
7.5% of police, military and similar had been victims of physical violence over the period 2013-2018 against 4.8% in 2007-2012 and against an increase of 1.5% to 1.6% for the average worker . Regarding verbal abuse, it goes from 20.5% to 26.7%, against 13.7% to 14.3% on average.
Police, military and similar are increasingly targeted in their workplace: the proportion of police, military and similar assaulted in the workplace from 2007 to 2012 increased by 33% for physical violence, 36% for threats and 47% for insults to respectively 66%, 68% and 64% between 2013 and 2018.
Moreover, 30.1% of police officers and gendarmes say they have suffered verbal abuse in their workplace (27.3% have suffered insults, 23% threats) in 2013-2018 compared to 5.9% for the average workers. Health and social work professionals are at 12.9%. 7.7% of police and gendarmes were victims of physical violence in their workplace over the same period, compared to 0.6% of all workers. 1.7% for health and social work professionals.
In other words, more than two thirds of the insults (66%), threats (69%) and physical violence (71%) suffered by police officers and gendarmes occur at or near their place of work, compared to only a third for the average. workers.
Finally, 60% of police and gendarmes victims of physical violence lodge a complaint, compared to less than 30% of all people with a job, over the period 2013-2018.