POLICE told off a hit-and-run victim - because she described the woman driver who mowed her down as "fat".
Mother-of-three Mary Magilton had been asked by an officer about the woman who had knocked her over. When she said the driver was "fat" she said she was given a frosty look and told she couldn't say that.
Mrs Magilton, 54, from Moorside, Oldham, blamed political correctness and said the ticking off left her feeling like a criminal.
Mrs Magilton suffered cuts and bruises in the incident at the junction of Ripponden Road and Turf Pit Lane, Oldham, when the Citroen C3 mounted the pavement, hit her, then drove off. The motorist has not yet been traced.
All Greater Manchester Police officers follow an "appropriate language" guide. When it was introduced in 2000 it sparked so many complaints an explanatory letter had to be sent to all officers.
Terms such as policeman and spokesman were described as sexist and anyone from an ethnic minority had to be referred to as non-white.
Disdain
Since its introduction the policy has been reviewed and updated. But it does state: "When taking a witness statement from a member of the public, be aware of the evidential need to record the witness's exact words.
"Use speech marks to show the words used by the witness, especially those giving descriptive information. Doing this will make sure the statement is recorded in the witness's own words."
Mrs Magilton said: "When I said fat they just gave me a frosty look and told me that I couldn't say that - but I didn't mean any harm. I couldn't find another word to use. I would describe the police reaction as dismissive and apathetic - they didn't even get me to sign a statement, they treated me with such disdain.
"I don't know any other words to describe a fat person. People describe me as the skinny one with fuzzy hair and it doesn't bother me.
"What's wrong with society when you can't describe someone who is fat as fat? It's political correctness gone mad - it's unbelievable."
A GMP spokesman said the language policy was to help officers and staff dealing with the public.
The incident comes almost 11 years after GMP was forced to launch an internal inquiry when one of its officers branded a woman prisoner "ugly".
Is the word 'fat' offensive to you? Have your say.
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Showing comments 1 to 18 and replies | View All
Mel, Manchester (13/10/2005 at 11:52)
John, Huddersfield (13/10/2005 at 12:21)
D Wilkinson, Fallowfield (13/10/2005 at 15:07)
paul, preston (13/10/2005 at 15:12)
Old Soldier, Greater Manchester (13/10/2005 at 15:31)
I feel sorry for the police officers who have to implement such silly linguistic prohibitions but then I suppose they would lose their jobs if they did not do so. One might ask who are these "Word Police" responsible for compiling a new lexicon of acceptable words? Probably the same type of person as those found in a fascist or communist state, who correctly identify freedom of speech as the foundation of all democracy and regard its suppression as a priority.
Mrs Magiltons experience will probably be regarded with some amusement by most people, but the underlying reasons are more serious. MEN is to be congratulated for again highlighting that PC in GMP no longer means police constable. I hope I am not blacklisted !!
Anthony, Accrington,Lancashire (13/10/2005 at 16:20)
Non PC, PC, Manchester (13/10/2005 at 16:44)
Gordon Duff, Grasscroft (13/10/2005 at 16:50)
Dave, North (13/10/2005 at 23:44)
Peter Watson, Dorsetshire (14/10/2005 at 10:01)
Anon, Manchester (14/10/2005 at 10:27)
Michael Todd and co. would never say or do anything non PC of course.
wilson, patricroft (15/10/2005 at 12:07)
Fat is ofensive
it looks bad, it is unhealthy and merits derogatory comments.
It is also an accurate description and lmore concise than "encumbered with an unnecessary excess of dripping"
Gerald Hartup, London (15/10/2005 at 20:52)
The TUC's guide Diversity in Diction, Equality in Action provides a simple guide to the person in the street.
As they explain:
Non-white: Referring to 'non-whites' classifies people only by their exclusion fronm the 'white' group and should be avoided.It is better to refer to the specific ethnic group if known, or to 'people from minority ethnic groups' or 'people from minority ethnic backgrounds'
It is important not to get the terms ethnic and minority the wrong way round . Manchester Police must drop their use of 'ethnic minority'.
The TUC explain:
Minority ethnic is preferred to ethnic minority because it stresses that everyone belongs to an ethnic group. Minority ethnic places the emphasis on the minority status rather than the ethnicity whereas the ethnic minority places the emphasis on the minority status of the group.
The use of such approved terminology should make communication between the public and the police stress free.
On the subject of the use of the term fat I can find no acceptable terminology. To use the term or any of its synonymms such as obese or adipose is to risk being accused of 'lookism' and could concern a reporting officer. The TUC and the British Sociological Society have not yet determined the language we may use or indeed if any language can be used for what after all may be a thought crime. For the time being at least it is probably safest not to provide a full description of a perpetrator of a crime who may historically have been descibed as f*t.
Andy, Wythenshawe (17/10/2005 at 10:34)
Don, altrincham (17/10/2005 at 14:52)
james owen, cleethorpes (29/12/2005 at 18:36)
Andrew Magilton (Not Related), Hitchin (10/01/2006 at 23:50)
I can assure you that; Mrs Magilton was very polite compared to what I would have called her, if she had just struck me with her car while I was walking on the pavement. Are all the descriptive words in the English language to be dropped, in case some poor over sensitive soul might be offended?
PW, Manchester (11/01/2006 at 09:24)