The Police Commissioner says mid-level assaults on officers could be brought within the proposed three strikes sentencing legislation and police may need more access to guns.
Under the legislation, to be included in the Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill, anyone committing a third serious violent offence would serve the maximum sentence with no parole.
Three officers have been attacked since Friday and Police Minister Judith Collins is considering how to further protect officers.
In the most serious attack, an off-duty officer was badly injured on Friday after trying to break up a fight in Tuakau, south of Auckland.
A few hours later in Whangarei, an officer suffered facial injuries after being bitten by a suspected drunk driver.
On Sunday, an officer conducting driver alcohol testing in Oamaru was set upon and injured in what police have described as an unprovoked, gang-like attack.
Police Commissioner Howard Broad says assault on police could be made a specific offence with a possible seven-year jail term to count towards three strikes.
"I think that ministers need an option to consider whether or not a mid-level assault on a police officer would be of a sufficiently serious nature that would bring it within the three strikes policy."
Mr Broad says alternatively targetting police could become an aggravating factor in assault sentencing.
The commissioner told Checkpoint police may need more guns available from locked boxes in patrol cars.
Mr Broad says while it is still a rare thing for police to be badly injured, the number of serious attacks are increasing in a way that is not explained by a bigger population or more officers on the beat.
Government looking at changes - PM
Prime Minister John Key has released figures showing that the number of convictions for attacks on police officers went up from 216 in 1999, to 412 in 2009. He says drug and alcohol use are behind the sharp increase.
He described the latest attacks on officers as "disgusting" and says a range of possible changes are under consideration.
Mr Key says the attacks are simply unacceptable and officials have already done a substantial amount of work looking at different actions the Government could take.
At present, if a police officer is a victim of an assault, that may be taken into account by a judge as an aggravating factor.
One option would be to require the judge to take that into account during sentencing, or there could be a specific offence created for assaulting an officer.
Police Minister Judith Collins is seeking advice on whether a serious assault on an officer could be listed as a qualifying offence in the three strikes legislation.
The minister is already waiting for a report on how the current law dealing with attacks on police is being applied.
Respect for law must be rebuilt - minister
Mrs Collins says while a law change is a possibility to further protect officers, respect for the law must be re-built if such attacks are to be stopped.
"I'm very concerned that we have a growing group of extremely violent people, particularly young people, who have no respect or fear for the law or of police," she told Morning Report on Monday.
Mrs Collins says police officers have her full backing to do whatever it takes to protect themselves and the public.
The minister says a report on whether there should be tougher penalties on those who attack police, which she ordered following the shooting of Constable Jeremy Snow in Papatoetoe in December last year, is due this week.
"I also wanted to know whether the current law was being applied properly and whether or not prosecutors are seeking extra sentences for people who attack police like this."
Police Association president Greg O'Connor says he sees a general readiness among the criminal fraternity to have a go at police, nurtured by constant criticism of police across the board.
Michael Bott from the Council of Civil Liberties says police need to do more to improve their image with the public. He says police, who often adopt a zero-tolerance approach and can be too heavy-handed, should try to be more accessible to the community.
