Torbay Council reports that it has taken steps to protect staff from violent, aggressive or threatening behaviour from the public with the publication of a policy setting out what the authority will do if it happens.
Flyers and posters publicising the policy have gone up in public offices such as Connections. Cllr Gordon Jennings, Deputy Leader of the Devon council, said: "Staff deal with thousands of queries in person and on the phone, and in the vast majority of cases there are no problems. But in 2004 there were over 450 reported incidents of violent, aggressive or threatening behaviour against staff. We believe that no member of staff should ever have to think of violent and aggressive behaviour as part of their job.
"We will support staff who are subjected to aggression or violence and take action against perpetrators. If we havenโt been able to resolve your concern immediately, we ask you to use our complaints procedure โ a feedback form is available from public offices or online. We will always investigate complaints."
Under the policy, people who abuse staff verbally or physically will be asked to leave. Abusive phone calls will be terminated. The council will hold a list of the names of anyone who has subjected staff to violence or aggression for up to five years, depending on the severity of the incident.
