Adrian, a telecoms engineer, remembers the chilling moment a seemingly ordinary job turned terrifying. He’d been working on a repair when a local resident erupted in fury over a minor delay. The man began hurling traffic cones and a torrent of abuse, then drove directly at Adrian, forcing him to slap the side of the van in a desperate attempt to stop him. “Don’t hit my f*ing van!” the man roared, completely beyond reason.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. Since April of last year, Openreach has recorded around 700 assaults – both physical and verbal – against its engineers. That’s a staggering increase from the 450 reported the previous year, and nearly ten times the number from a decade ago. The threats are escalating, ranging from being spat at and racially abused to facing threats with dogs and even knives.
The reality is grim: assault is now the *leading* cause of injuries for Openreach engineers, surpassing even the risks associated with working at heights or navigating hazardous roads. Adrian himself experienced this firsthand, returning to finish the repairs later that evening only to be met with a fresh wave of verbal abuse. “I want to drive my ‘effing car up here,” the man shouted, oblivious to the council’s authorization for the work.
Fortunately, Adrian now had a lifeline. He activated a new app, a modified version of one from Peoplesafe, designed specifically for the safety of network engineers. With a single touch, he could silently alert the police, activate a fall sensor, and share his precise GPS location. Within minutes, officers arrived, de-escalating the situation and allowing Adrian to complete his work.
“I’ve never had an app like this,” Adrian reflects. “If I fell unconscious – sometimes we work kilometers in the countryside on our own – who’s going to find me?” The app offers a crucial layer of security, a silent guardian in potentially dangerous situations.
The dangers aren’t always dramatic confrontations. Adrian recounts a colleague’s horrifying experience: arriving at a customer’s home to find it covered in dog feces. When the customer refused to clean it up, he physically attacked the engineer, throwing him out the door and unleashing his dogs. The attack ended the engineer’s career.
Engineers have long relied on a discreet code within the company. Facing trouble, they’d simply ask to “talk to Albert” – a signal to the control room that they needed assistance. But the escalating violence demanded a more proactive solution.
A significant factor contributing to the abuse is the nature of the work itself. Nearly half of all repairs and installations require engineers to enter customers’ homes. Adam Elsworth, Openreach’s safety director, explains the vulnerability. “They’re in someone’s home, and it’s a vulnerable place. Out on the High Street, people can see it, and there’s a sense of protection.”
Elsworth admits the official figures likely underestimate the true extent of the problem. Many engineers have come to accept abuse as an unfortunate part of the job, reluctant to report every incident. He shares a common sentiment he hears from his team: “I just let you know, Adam, I did fix their service…” – a subtle way of acknowledging the ordeal they endured.
Openreach, along with other telecoms companies, is now advocating for legal changes to better protect customer-facing workers. A proposed crime and policing bill aims to make assaulting a retail worker a standalone offense, and the industry argues that this protection should extend to engineers as well. A letter signed by 100 organizations urged the government to act swiftly, warning that the problem will only worsen without a strong deterrent.
For Adrian, the need for safety extends beyond the workday. He sees the Peoplesafe app as a valuable tool for anyone concerned about their personal security. “Women can use it on the way home. If it was going on a night out in town, I know I could use it,” he says. “It spans more than just being an engineer.”
Police investigations are ongoing into the incident involving Adrian, confirming they received a report of threats and aggressive behavior from a driver in Midhurst. The surge in violence against engineers is a stark reminder of the risks faced by those who keep our connected world running, and the urgent need for greater protection and respect.
