Human bite injuries were partly to blame for police in West Yorkshire taking more than 5,000 days off sick following accidents or attacks in the last two years.
Health and safety statistics show officers missed a total of 5,237 working days in 2010-11 and 2011-12 for reasons other than illness.
They included 69 days taken off following bite injuries – relating to 118 incidents recorded in the last two years.
Figures given to the YEP show that, of the 62 recorded biting incidents last year, one in five was from a human.
Twenty were dog bites, six were from insects and two were from horses. One of the bites was from a cat.
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A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “There is no obligation for officers to take time off after being bitten. Lost working days will be as a result of the seriousness of the incident.”
Jon Christopher, vice chairman of the West Yorkshire Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said police often faced potential danger.
He said: “Officers do encounter certain people who have dogs that they are happy to set on people or use as a weapon.
“I also know of at least a couple of incidents of officers being bitten by prisoners.”
The majority of lost days in the last two years were accounted for by vehicle accidents (1,453), slips, trips and falls (1,207) and struggles with violent suspects (663).
There were also 240 days lost to injuries sustained after officers were hit with objects and 128 to falls from height.
But Mr Christopher said the actual number of incidents was probably higher than those recorded.
He said: “In a lot of cases officers won’t bother reporting incidents because they see it as just another form to fill in.
“We do urge our members to report any injuries sustained in the line of duty.”
The health and safety figures, presented to West Yorkshire Police Authority, showed the days lost to accidents and attacks fell from 3,544 in 2010-11 to 1,692 last year.
The longest single absence following a vehicle accident was 45 days.
The police spokesman said advice on dealing with potentially harmful situations was covered during police officer safety training.
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