Crawley Town Hall staff continue to face abuse and antisocial behaviour
The news was shared during a borough council scrutiny committee meeting on Monday (1 June)
Staff at Crawley Town Hall have continued to face abuse and antisocial behaviour despite the introduction of a security officer at reception.
The news was shared during a borough council scrutiny committee meeting on Monday (1 June), where chairman Justin Russell (Lab, Pound Hill North & Forge Wood) described it as a ‘sad indictment of the times we live in’.
Officers said that the number of incidents appeared to occur ‘less frequently’ and that staff felt ‘more supported’ since the introduction of the security guard.
But that hasn’t prevented some people from thinking they have the right to abuse and threaten others in their place of work.
The abuse was not only focussed on front-line staff but also on those dealing with phone calls or email.
On top of that, almost 350 council staff, whose jobs take them out and about in the borough, carry lone-worker alarms in case they are faced with violence or accidents whilst carrying out their duties.
The committee was told that a working party had been formed to look into what had been happening and what can be done.
At the moment, callers are told that abusive, threatening, or offensive behaviour towards staff would not be tolerated and could lead to further action being taken.