COMPLAINTS against Lancashire’s police officers – including for being rude and neglect of duty – have leapt by nearly 40 per cent in a year.

Last September Lancashire Constabulary launched an awareness drive at the force’s training centre to remind recruits of the need for ‘civility’.

Only Eastern division, covering Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley, appears to have heeded the warning, with gripes dropping by 10, for 2008-09 to 2009-10.

And Pennine division fares better than the rest of the county, with only two more complaints, 42 to 44, over the same period for the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale areas.

Protests about impoliteness have rocketed considerably in West Lancashire, Preston, Chorley, Leyland and Lancaster and More-cambe though.

Police Federation offic-ials labelled the politeness campaign as ‘political correctness gone mad’, but force chiefs were more conciliatory.

A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary said then: “Allegations of incivility are always taken seriously as we recognise that this can affect the confidence of our com-munities in the services we provide.

"We are keen to take every opportunity we can to put things right where we have not done so in the first instance, and to learn from any mistakes that we may have made.”

Eastern and Pennine divisions have both been found wanting in relation to the number of neglect of duty complaints however.

The rate has risen from 57 to 73 for Eastern and 43 to 78 for Pennine, year on year.

Each division has also contributed to large force-wide increases in alleged assaults, oppressive conduct and a lack of impartiality.

The number of discrimination complaints across the county is the only indicator to drop, from 42 to 29, according to a report by Supt Martyn Leveridge, compiled for Lancashire Police Authority’s professional standards committee.