Nearly half the officers in the Royal Gibraltar Police injured on duty last year

Nearly half the officers in the Royal Gibraltar Police were injured on duty last year, the force has told GBC.

It says there's been a notable rise in assaults on police officers over the last five years.

Christina Cortes joined a group of recruits on a day in training.

The Public and Personal Safety Training, or PPST, course is mandatory for police recruits - and all 18 in this school have now passed.

With officers from the Falklands, as well as the Gibraltar Defence Police, in the training school, the course was held at Devil's Tower Camp.

The Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act empowers officers to use "reasonable force" - if necessary.

But when is it necessary - and what about those cases which might not be reasonable, but excessive?

Every officer has to fill out a "use of force" form justifying their actions.

Last year, there were 1,651 arrests and 344 uses of force - that's in 21 percent of arrests. Last year, there were six complaints of excessive force, with these under investigation.

The course marks the seventh of 23 weeks of intensive training - after which the recruits will join a response team for a two-year probation period.

The aim is that they put their newfound skills to work to keep the public, and themselves, safe.