Bendigo police are backing calls for people to respect the badge

Last year's incidents varied in severity from verbal abuse to being spat on, being physically assaulted or cars being rammed with officers inside, Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said.

Many of those incidents resulted in police copping physical or psychological injuries, he said.

"We've had up to four members a week suffering psychological injury from exposure to that violence," chief commissioner Ashton said.

"We are encouraging that respect throughout the community, but importantly in our case, when we are out in the community we show respect and we have it from those offenders we deal with."

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Police were trained to deal with hostile situations and to understand that people were mouthing off at the uniform, not the person, Bendigo Acting Senior Sergeant Steve Rainey said.

"But that being said, our staff are like those in any workplace. They don't need to be subjected to that for doing their job," he said.

Police were not the only workers attracting abuse from some sections of the public, Acting Senior Sergeant Rainey said.

There were also issues with respect towards paramedics, hospital staff and carers, he said. Unlike police, their work should not include dealing with those kinds of situations.

Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said there was a trend in Victoria towards groups of people looking on as companions assaulted police.

"When we see that I think something has gone terribly wrong. It's gone wrong because the level heads in those groups should be holding those people back ... it's really sad when we have bystanders who are facilitating that (abuse) by not stopping that," he said.

Police found it "uplifting" when bystanders or companions spoke up Mr Gatt said.

"We need to see more of it," he said.

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