A chief constable today added his voice to growing anger over the Kelly Jones compensation case by saying it was 'wholly inappropriate' for police officers to make claims against victims of crime.
Mike Cunningham, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, spoke out after Pc Jones was criticised for taking legal action against a petrol station owner after she tripped on a kerb answering a 999 call.
It comes after Home Secretary Theresa May stepped into the row over the weekend by ordering a review of all such compensation cases involving the police.
Pc Jones is making a claim against Steve Jones, 50, the owner of Nuns' Bridges Filling Station in Thetford, Norfolk, for failing to ensure she was 'reasonably safe' when she attended a suspected break-in in August 2012.
After her astonishing claim became public, her own Chief Constable, Phil Gormley, criticised it as ‘surprising and disappointing’.
Mr Cunningham told ITV's Daybreak programme: 'It is, to me, wholly inappropriate that police officers claim compensation against victims of crime, people to whom we have responded in order to help them.
'However, there are occasions, and I think many members of the public would accept and understand this, when an officer is badly assaulted on duty and loses earnings as a result; then it may be that they should have access to the criminal injuries compensation scheme along with everybody else.'
Mr Cunningham, who is Chief Constable of the Staffordshire force, added: 'I think it is self-evident that risk is an inherent part of being a police officer and when police officers join they absolutely know that and are aware of it.
'In fact, it is one of the appeals of the job that police officers put themselves between harm and victims, and that's what we do.
'There are occasions when officers unfortunately will be injured as a result of the profession they have chosen and it is in those circumstances when the issue of compensation arises.'
Centre of national row: WPC Jones (pictured with her father Danny Harle on her first day as a police officer) has been criticised for taking legal action against a petrol station owner after she tripped on a kerb on a 999 call
Accident scene: The petrol station in Thetford, Norfolk, where WPC Kelly Jones tripped on the kerb while responding to a 999 call
Sources say Mrs May fears that the trend for officers to sue could deter victims from reporting crimes.
Mrs May’s action follows not only the Jones case, but an incident where a policeman is suing a burglary victim for £10,000 after allegedly falling into a drain while investigating a break-in at West Horsley, Surrey.
PC Richard Seymour is claiming against shop-owner Stuart Lambley for ‘loss of overtime’ despite being on full pay throughout.
Mrs May will ask for a review of such cases when she returns to work from holiday today.
She is said to believe it is unreasonable for police to demand compensation for minor injuries in their normal line of duty, and their right to sue burglary victims for injuries sustained while chasing criminals may now be curbed.
Critical: Pc Jones's own Chief Constable, Phil Gormley (left), described her claim as ‘surprising and disappointing’, while Home Secretary Theresa May has ordered a review of police compensation cases
A Home Office source said: ‘It seems wrong that a PC should sue someone who reports a crime for a minor injury. There would be serious concerns if it deterred people from reporting crimes.
‘Similarly, common sense tells you that owing to the nature of their work, police may suffer a few cuts and bruises. It would be wrong for them to put in a claim for compensation every time this happens.
‘The victims of crime have the right to be treated as such, not turned into criminals themselves.’
PC Jones is also demanding compensation from her own force after she was in a police car which skidded off the road and ended on its side during a chase in January last year.
She put in a compensation claim to Norfolk Constabulary, which would not discuss details. Her lawyers said she injured her knee and her employers accepted liability.
Another claim: Pc Jones is also demanding compensation from her own force after she was in a police car like this one which skidded off the road and ended on its side during a chase in January last year
Her lawyers, Pattinson Brewer, said: ‘Kelly believes she has the right to go to work and not be harmed by someone else’s negligence.’
The Police Federation is backing PC Jones’s action against Mr Jones, who is not related to the officer. It says she wants to claw back ‘lost earnings’.
But it is understood she has lost only overtime and night shift pay as she was on a full salary while recovering from both incidents.
PC Jones is on sick leave but is due back on active duty soon.
A total of £67.1 million has been paid out to injured officers in settlements in the four years from 2009 to 2012, figures from the federation showed.
