Peterborough pleads with public to be civil to enforcement officers

Motorists and residents in Peterborough are being asked to show respect for parking officers as part of a campaign to crackdown on abusive incidents.

The Cambridgeshire council is raising awareness about the positive work undertaken by its parking team. It is particularly concerned about the abuse civil enforcement officer often face whilst working to educate motorists on safe parking practices and protecting the public from dangerous parking.

The call for respect comes after 21 serious cases of abuse were reported by parking officers last year, including physical attacks, spitting and even death threats.

One civil enforcement officer said: “In the past I had twelve eggs thrown at me all at once. I had to have a shower at work because the eggs were all in my hair. If we talked to people like they do sometimes we would get reported for it.”

As well as carrying out parking duties, the team will always look to help members of the public in distress. Earlier this year, four quick-thinking officers came to the rescue of a school pupil who had been struck by a vehicle whilst they were on duty.

Another parking officer said: “Yet despite all these things we do I normally get abuse shouted at me on average about three times a day. I normally have someone spit, if not at me, then in my vicinity at least once a week. I have been slapped once, and on one occasion someone rammed me with a bike they were riding.”

Adam Payton, the council’s community safety neighbourhood manager, parking, said: “It is completely unacceptable that our parking officers who are working hard to educate motorists across the city continue to face abuse.

“We want to raise awareness of their work and what they have to put up with in the hope that residents can treat our parking officers with respect. They are working to keep this city safe and deserve to be treated with respect.”