More than 8,000 police officers have successfully claimed compensation worth nearly £70 million in the past four years, official figures have revealed.
Data released from the Police Federation of England and Wales, the staff union that represents more than 120,000 rank and file officers, reveals for the first time the full scale of the ‘compensation culture’ which critics say is rife in the service.
This comes after the Norfolk police woman Kelly Jones was criticised for attempting to sue a 999 caller after tripping over a kerb on his premises while investigating a suspected break in. It has also been reported that the same Kelly Jones is taking action against her own force for another accident, in which she claims she suffered injuries as a result of a car accident that occurred during a chase.
The federation says 1,859 officers received £19.8m in compensation last year for a variety of incidents including injury at work and training, being attacked by animals and traffic accidents.