PARKING wardens in East Yorkshire have been issued with body cameras to crack down on abuse.
All 24 members of East Riding of Yorkshire Council's civil enforcement officers will be issued with the cameras, following more than 120 incidents of aggressive behaviour towards them since the start of 2017.
The most serious incidents have included one officer being shot by a ball bearing gun, another suffering damage to their arm after being pushed into a fence, and one officer being filmed by an offender as they were physically assaulted and threatened.
The scheme will cost £16,000 and will be paid for through parking charges and penalty charge notices.
Councillor John Barrett, the council’s portfolio holder for operational services, said: "We understand that people can sometimes get angry or frustrated at receiving a penalty charge notice, but that is no excuse for using abusive or violent behaviour towards our officers, who are just doing their job.
"We are equipping the officers with these new body cameras as a deterrent to stop these situations happening in the first place, and to make our staff feel safer as they go about their duties, as they often work alone."
All 24 civil enforcement officers and three civil enforcement supervisors working across the East Riding will be equipped with the body cameras from this week.
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