Reversing Costs Police £2.3million

IT looks like thousands of policemen and women will be dusting off their L-plates and re-applying for their driving tests after it emerged that, over the last three years, officers have caused £2.3million worth of damage to their police cars – by reversing.

The figures, released by 31 different forces in England and Wales under a Freedom of Information Act request, reveal that most of the damage was caused by officers backing into bollards, parking poorly or bumping into buildings. In all, 105 officers were injured in the accidents, with most suffering shock and whiplash.

The figures, which cover the period between 2004 and 2006, are likely to be far higher as Britain’s biggest force, the Metropolitan Police Service, failed to divulge its traffic cock-ups.

With taxpayers forced to pick up the bill because of high insurance premiums and excesses which discourage forces from claiming for the damage, groups such as the Taxpayers’ Alliance are not happy.

Spokesman Corin Taylor says: “If police officers are constantly having minor car accidents, they shouldn’t be so hard on ordinary motorists. If they spent less time in cars and on the beat, they wouldn’t be having these accidents in the first place.”

It’s all a far cry from The Sweeney.

Anorak

Posted: 7th, June 2007 | In: Money Comment (1) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink