A VIDEO has been published on Coventry City Council’s social media channels showing the extent of abuse faced by staff.
Bodycam footage from an incident from June 2023 showed two parking wardens being verbally and physically assaulted by a member of the public.
The wardens were patrolling Nuffield Road where they ticketed a vehicle – when a member of the public saw the ticket he became abusive towards the pair.
Coventry City Council shared the footage with the police and the investigation resulted in a successful prosecution in October 2023.
Abuse against the civil enforcement officers are being highlighted in a campaign called ‘No excuse for abuse’.
Coun Abdul Salam Khan, deputy leader of Coventry City Council said: “Everybody deserves to be safe, supported and treated with respect at their workplace.
“We know many residents appreciate the work of Council Officers but as this footage shows, there are a small minority who take it too far.
“Council staff work hard every day to support the people of our city and we know that is appreciated by most people, but sadly cases of abuse are rising, and this cannot be allowed to continue.
“There is no excuse for abuse and if you assault our staff, we will inform the police and we will push for a prosecution. I’d like to thank our Police colleagues for their invaluable support with this incident.”
A Police spokesperson said: “Incidents like this are completely unacceptable and we continue to work with our local authority partners to take action wherever and whenever we receive information about this kind of incident.
“Everyone has the right to go to work without the fear of being assaulted and we will take strong action against anyone responsible for this type of offence.
“Following our investigation into this incident, a man in his 40s was arrested, charged and convicted of assault in October last year.”
