|
Police told: Don't use the C-word |
POLICE have been told not to say the C-word when they talk to the public.
A new Home Office memo instructs officers to play down the risk of CRIME — even saying there is a low risk in their area, regardless of “recent reported incidents”.
It says talking about crime could worry people and even make them think badly of the police.
The move comes after the Home Office decision last June to mark English and Welsh police forces on a public “confidence” measure, which will need to hit 60 per cent by 2012.
The most recent figures show people’s faith in cops is at just 49 per cent.
And the report, Improving Public Confidence in the Police Service, says talking of incidents of crime... “may actually stimulate feelings of fear.
“There is also evidence that when people feel insecure they are likely to blame the police.”
But DC Alex Challenor, of the Police Federation, said: “This is just another way the Government is trying to control everything we think and say.”
The report also claims that officers spend too much time criticising their jobs.
It adds: “Evidence shows the police have a lower perception of their service than other public sector workers.
“It has been suggested that if the police speak negatively about their job in public, this may lower general public perceptions of the service.”