As work-related injuries continues to fall in jobs such as demolition, construction and metal work, the number of policemen getting injured on the job has increased every year since 2011, according to a new report from the Danish working environment authority, Arbejdstilsynet.
The report – which documented work-related injuries in 37 industry sectors from 2008-2013 – showed that the number of policemen who had been reported injured while working had shot up by about 45 percent from 301 in 2008 to 439 last year.
”There is a problem that more policemen take sick leave when they are injured, because that could indicate that the injuries are different than they were before,” Flemming Olsen, the union secretary for police union Politiforbundet, told Politiken newspaper.
READ MORE: Sexually harassed woman wins record payout
More sprains and wounds
In particular, injuries such as sprains and wounds have been on the rise in recent years. The officer must report any accidents that result in injuries to Arbejdstilsynet if they miss just one day of work because of the injury.
But Olsen said the police's own figures document there have been far more work-related injuries, over 1,000 per year, so the problem is even more acute than the one suggested in Arbejdstilsynet's figures.
The police aims to reduce its number of work-related accidents by 10 percent by 2016.
The Arbejdstilsynet report showed that 41,362 work-related injuries were registered last year – of which 36 resulted in death.
