Director General of the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) Egert Belitšev told newspaper Postimees that it seems as though attacks on officers are on the rise.

"Biting is a big concern for us. I can't prove it statistically, but I feel that attacks on law enforcement agencies have increased. On the police, on security companies, there are always messages that police officers have been injured," he said in an interview published last week.

"Teeth flash often. I have small children at home and I feel like society should re-explain, as I have told my children at home, that biting is not allowed," the director general continued.

He connected the incidents to Harju County Court Judge Reena Lember who allegedly bit a police officer on April 25. The incident took place after police were called to Club Münt in Tallinn's Old Town by its security service. Officers decided to take Lember home after speaking with her. As she was led to the police van, Lember resisted the officers, insulted them, and bit a patrol officer, the police said.

The case was widely reported in the media in the middle of May after a video was published in which the altercation with Lember and the two officers is shown. One officer is heard asking: "Why are you biting me?"

Lember told the newspaper Õhtuleht that she had a conflict with police officers: "Although no suspicions of a crime have been brought against me, I cannot comment on the specific circumstances due to the ongoing proceedings."

A spokesperson for the prosecutor's office said an investigation has been initiated into the use of violence against a public official performing official duties.

Belitšev said: "Since the media reported about a judge [Reena Lember] biting a police officer, there have been incidents every week. I would like to hope that as adults we can solve problems without biting."

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