With police assaults reaching a rate of one every 20 minutes around the country, there were calls for all forces to provide better training to their troops.

Jan Berry, who chairs the Police Federation, described the results of the five-year research into the risk faced by frontline officers as “shocking”.

“Police officers are struggling to effectively and safely deliver a 24/7 emergency response to the public in the face of growing violence, increased assaults and dwindling numbers,” she said.

“A number of forces are failing to provide the minimum officer safety refresher training, further evidence our health and safety is not being taken seriously,” said Ms Berry.

It emerged five of the six most dangerous areas for officers of the country’s more than 50 police force areas were all north of the border.

Fife came equal fourth, behind Strathclyde, Central and Grampian, with 1.7 assaults per officer between 2002 and 2006. During that period 1780 attacks were recorded. In Tayside, 716 incidents were recorded.

Last year saw a drop in the number of assaults for the second year in a row.

Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie, SNP home affairs spokesman, said today, “Some of these statistics are absolutely shocking. In Strathclyde and Central, officers are likely to have been attacked three times in the last five years, while the figure for Fife is nearly twice in five years.

“While the Tayside statistics are better, we are still looking at more than 700 assaults in five years.

Vulnerable

“I would imagine every chief constable in the country will be reviewing their training practices and operational procedures to make sure officers are not left vulnerable.”

He added, “I would hope when people are charged and convicted of these assaults, they are given the harshest possible penalties to encourage others to respect the police and the work they do.”

The statistics were released by forces in response to requests from Tory MP Grant Shapps, who said his report depicted the “perilous reality” for frontline officers.

All but one of the 51 constabularies in England, Scotland and Wales contributed to the findings, which show there were 25,368 assaults on police officers in 2006 — a marginal rise on 2002 when there were 24,559. The report said this translated to 70 assaults a day or one every 20 minutes.

Mr Shapps said, “The truth is that yet another Government target, safety initiative or programme will do little to protect our frontline police.

“It is only by rebuilding a sense of social responsibility that we can hope to tackle this truly deep-rooted problem.”