Swearing at police is not a crime, says judge

London, November 21 (ANI): A judge has ruled that swearing at police officers is not a crime as they hear such words 'all too frequently' to be offended.

The decision by the Court of Appeal overturned the public order conviction of a young suspect Denzel Cassius Harvey who repeatedly said the 'F' word while being searched for drugs in Hackney, East London.

Mr Justice Bean said officers were so regularly on the receiving end of the 'rather commonplace' expletive that it was unlikely to cause them 'harassment, alarm or distress'.

"---- this man. I ain't been smoking nothing," Mr Harvey reportedly told the police when he was stopped for a search.

"Told you, you wouldn't find ---- all," he said, when the search revealed nothing.

Police representative described the judgement as 'unacceptable' and said that it would undermine respect for officers.

"If judges are going to say you can swear at police then everyone is going to start doing it," the Telegraph quoted Peter Smyth, the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, as saying.

"I'm not saying that police officers are going to go and hide in the corner and cry if someone tells them to 'F' off, but verbal abuse is not acceptable and this is the wrong message to be sending out," he said.

Met Police chiefs were accused of surrendering to foul-mouthed yobs earlier this year after they banned officers from arresting those who taunted them with offensive language.

They warned officers that the courts would not believe they had been upset by four-letter words. (ANI)