POLICE were too rough in their handling of a burglar following his arrest.

So said Judge Jane Mowat, sitting at Oxford Crown Court, as she sentenced said tealeaf, one Craig Ralphs.

Judge Mowat told Pc Kern Langley and an unnamed colleague that she saw no justification for the level of restraint, caught on CCTV.

She is of course entitled to say what she likes in her courtroom. But a little perspective is needed here.

The ‘victim’ is in fact an offender with 140 previous convictions for burglary and other crimes who the officers were clearly wary of. Having been a ‘customer’ for so long, they no doubt knew the sort of character they were dealing with. Ralphs’ response to being, admittedly, manhandled in the lift at St Aldate’s police station was to sink his teeth into Pc Langley’s inner thigh, having aimed for his groin. Nice.

No batons, sprays or tasers were used in the ensuing struggle and although the officers’ response could be deemed excessive when viewed in the cold light of a courtroom, common sense needs to be applied when considering if the response was proportional.

There is no place for police brutality, or the use of excessive force, even in the most extreme circumstances. But this is not an incident that warrants a public rebuke for the police, particularly when it is a man with a truly appalling criminal record who is on trial, not the arresting officers.

To be fair, Ralphs has apologised and no complaint against police has been made. No doubt he was relieved to have walked out of court, again, with a suspended sentence for the latest offence in a long criminal career.

We would advise Ralphs that there is one way to avoid being shoved around in a police station lift.

Don’t steal other people’s property and then bite a copper’s thigh when he does what we expect of him and arrests you.