IT'S the five-letter word our state's police should get used to being called.

A university student was yesterday cleared of an offensive language charge after a local court magistrate ruled the word "prick" was part of the every-day vernacular.



Waverley Local Court magistrate Robbie Williams made his comments during a hearing for science student Henry Grech, 22, who was charged following a heated argument with Senior Constable Adam Royds at Bondi Junction train station last year.



Mr Williams said he wasn't satisfied that a "reasonable person'' would be offended by the word prick in general conversation.



"I consider the word prick is of a less derogatory nature than other words and it is in common usage in this country," he said.

"A police officer on a number of occurrences would hear words like this used on a much worse scale. Police officers would be used to this type of language."

Mr Williams said the spectrum of acceptable offensive vocabulary in society was a "moving feast".

"The words also take on different meaning. It is clear that there are some words which could be considered to be on the offensive list," he said.

"As to whether the word prick falls into that category must be taken in the context of which it was used."

The Punch: Pricking the bubble of polite conversation

NSW Police Association secretary Peter Remfrey said the legal system should not be making police "second-class citizens".

"We don't think it is satisfactory for the courts to sanction this sort of language against police officers," Mr Remfrey said.

"Police shouldn't be punching bags for society, nor should they be open to this sort of abuse. One only has to contemplate the response of a magistrate if somebody called them a prick in their court. The magistrates should adopt the same approach to all people in the criminal justice system."

Sen-Constable Royds stopped Mr Grech on the station's concourse area on November 5 last year about 4.50pm after he allegedly jumped a barrier.

The pair had an aggressive exchange of words before Mr Grech told Sen-Constable Royds he would "see him in court" if he continued to harass him.

As he walked off Mr Grech called Sen-Constable Royds "a prick".

Mr Grech, who is a science student at the University of NSW, said he was surprised the matter had been taken to court.

"When I used the word I didn't think it was offensive and didn't think it would end up in court," Mr Grech said.

"I'm happy I got off."

Mr Grech's lawyer Nick Hanna used previous cases dating back to 1951 to compare other cases where magistrates and judges had dismissed offensive language charges.

He referenced decisions from court cases in NSW, Western Australia and South Australia where magistrates ruled that words including "shit" and "f . . k" had not been used in "an offensive manner and without sexual overtones".

Police prosecutors are unlikely to appeal against Mr Williams' decision.

Originally published as Magistrate: it's ok to call cop 'pr**k'