The app has been developed by IT software company, Agilisys, and allows officers to report and record assaults in a standardised way.

The National Police Assaults Data app will enable forces to standardise data collection and will also point them towards support services, as well as signposting supervisors to carry out welfare assessments.

The initiative was driven by the College of Policing, the NPCC and Oscar Kilo.

The app itself has two interfaces – one for individuals and one for supervisors. The latter allows supervisors to keep on top of incidents that occur and understand the impact on the victims.

Collecting data nationally will help with understanding the scale and impact of officer assaults as well as inform policy.

The code used to develop the app means it can be customised to suit different forces’ requirements.

In the past year, around 37,000 assaults on officers have been recorded, and increase of more than 20 per cent on the previous year. However it is thought that this figure only accounts for 65 per cent of the assaults which take place.

Currently there is no standardised method for forces to collect data on assaults on their officers.

The app forms part of Operation Hampshire, a national project aiming to provide a comprehensive response to police assaults.

The operation provides a seven point plan following an assault and works to ensure officers receive the same care and treatment as any other victim of crime.

City of London had trialled the app and have been using it since late 2021.

It became available for all forces to download from the PDS solutions catalogue in March.

The app is deployed to the force using Microsoft 365.

Chief Inspector Dave Brewster, National Operation Hampshire Coordinator, said: “The importance of this app and the ability to collate national police assaults data cannot be overestimated.

“First it provides us with a detailed evidence base to make informed decisions around changes to equipment and officer safety training. This could help us reduce incidents of assault or at least reduce the impact and level of injuries.

“The other issue that is really important is that it will allows us to effectively articulate exactly what our colleagues face while protecting the public.

“We have seen huge changes to the protective kit that we have to carry. Protective equipment is obviously very important and it’s absolutely right that we have the most appropriate kit to match the threat and circumstances but it is not the only answer.

“We remain a largely unarmed police service in the UK, it’s what makes us unique in our style of policing. If we want to keep it that way and maintain the relationships we have with the public we need think about how we protect our colleagues.”