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Nearly half of officers admit failing to show their ID badge
Justin Davenport30 Apr 2009
Almost half of police officers have admitted not wearing their shoulder identification numbers on front-line duty, a survey showed today.
The poll in industry magazine Police Review said 45 per cent admitted doing front-line work without their numbers on show.
Of the 806 officers who responded, 53 per cent said they always wore their identification number as required.
Peter Smyth, chairman of the Met Police Federation, was concerned about the implications of officers hiding numbers. He said: "If these police officers have done it deliberately that would surprise me and it would be very worrying."
Denis O'Connor, the Acting Chief Inspector of Constabulary, who is reviewing public order policing, said the public needed to be able to identify officers on duty.
"Not wearing their numbers is utterly unacceptable. It's very clear-cut - I hope it will be rectified with some certainty," he said. "I would expect police officers in public order and other situations to wear their numbers so the public can identify them. It acts as a good check and balance."
