Western Bay of Plenty police have suffered more than 200 workplace injuries in the past four years.
The casualty list includes fractures, burns and dental injuries - some sustained during violent assaults. But the number of claims has been dropping consistently since the introduction of body armour and Taser gun access, police say.
Figures reveal 227 on-the-job injury claims have been lodged by the region's police staff since 2009, 34 for assaults.
But the number of injuries is dropping, with 40 claims in the last financial year, compared with 84 in 2011/12.
Most of the claims were made by Tauranga Police, with only 11 in the wider Western Bay of Plenty District since 2009.
Western Bay of Plenty police injury claims totalled almost $468,700 for the four years - $27,053 for assaults injuries.
The cost to the taxpayer has gone up slightly over the same period, from close to $125,400 in 2010/11 to $134,358 in 2012/13.
Soft tissue injuries were the most common among police nationwide, peaking in 2010/11 at 1086 claims. The number has dropped dramatically since then, with only 78 claims made in 2012/13.
Lacerations, puncture wounds and stings were the second most common injury category followed by fractures and dislocations.
In the past four years, police have lodged 21 claims for having a "foreign body in an orifice or eye". Other claims included concussions, dental injuries, burns and hernias.
Assault claims were mostly for soft tissue injuries, although ACC could not confirm whether a weapon had been used during attacks. Bashed police also made 19 claims for dental injuries.
National Assistant Commissioner Operations, Superintendent Mike Rusbatch, said the local drop in assaults reflected a gradual decline across the country.
"From 2007 to 2012 there has been a 22 per cent drop in assaults on police, and we are committed to continuing to reduce that number. Police take the health and safety of its staff seriously and work hard to ensure that they are well trained, equipped and supported to carry out their jobs."
The introduction of stab-resistant body armour, improved tactical training, greater access to Tasers and firearms, and the introduction of safety alarms for police working in remote areas had all helped reduce injuries on the force, Mr Rusbatch said.
Police had also been working hard to prevent injuries among its 12,000 staff.
However, despite the falling number of injuries and assaults, police still needed to keep their guard up, Police Association president Greg O'Connor said.
The stabbing of a constable in Auckland last week highlighted the risks faced by police carrying out everyday tasks, and officers should be armed as a matter of course, Mr O'Connor said.
"There are around 3000 calls for police assistance every day. Any one of them has the potential to become a life-threatening situation. We have already lost too many police officers slain while undertaking routine duties."
However, police did not support the routine arming of staff, which would "irrevocably" change the relationship officers had with the public, Mr Rusbatch said.
A Tauranga policewoman spent a week in intensive care after being viciously beaten with a metal wheel rim in 2006. In 2004, two officers suffered whiplash when their vehicles collided during a high-speed pursuit in Te Puke.