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Zero tolerance on abuse of the police
Crime
Police officers being verbally and racially abused is on the rise according to new figures.
According to the results of a Freedom of Information request, 26 Bedfordshire police officers were the victims of crimes of verbal or racial abuse or harassment last year.
This is a sharp rise compared to the 2007 figures where 11 police officers suffered abuse.
But the statistics show that police are cracking down on the perpetrators, with 19 people charged with the offences in 2011 and 24 people out of 28 crimes committed in 2010.
A spokesman for Bedfordshire Police said: “Incidents of verbal abuse towards police officers do happen and it is often the case that people will commit such an offence directly towards an officer and there is no question over identification.
“While no one should suffer any form of abuse during their employment, it is often the case that figures of authority will be more prone to such verbal attacks and as such officers are trained to deal with public order offences.
“However, if an officer feels that the offender has overstepped the mark or possibly presents a threat, then they have the powers to make an arrest. It is then the decision of the CPS whether to charge that individual based on the evidence provided and the figures show that convictions are often achieved.”
He added: “The message is simple – Bedfordshire Police officers should not have to tolerate verbal abuse of any sort and anyone who commits an offence of this nature faces the possibility of being arrested, charged and convicted.”
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Weather for Bedford
Thursday 23 May 2013
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