Essex Police Officer Roles Shift During Covid-19

1 June 2020

Essex Police officers are doing their best to protect the public, even as Government messaging regarding the coronavirus pandemic has shifted, Essex Police Federation has said.

In mid-May the Government relaxed its lockdown measures in England and changed its slogan from ‘Stay at home’ to ‘Stay alert’. This was followed by new/updated guidelines from the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, stating that police officers should only enforce the health protection guidelines, not Government guidance such as social distancing.

Federation Chairman Steve Taylor said: “The guidance does flip-flop all over the place, but you could say we’re doing a better job of weathering this storm than those who are issuing the guidance in the first place… It is a challenge, but we try hard to put our duties first, look after people and try to keep them safe.”

Steve said that Essex officers had done “really, really well” at policing by the three Es – engage, explain and encourage – before they reach the fourth “e”, the enforcement stage. He said: “What never changes is our mission. That policing by consent model doesn’t change and that underpins, rightfully, everything that we do.”

He continued: “Our communities need us to work through the confusing advice and legislation and make it work. We can’t simply just wring our hands and say: ‘This is ridiculous, it’s not working. We’re going home’. That’s never an option for us. We’ve got to make it work. And that’s what I mean when I say officers and members in Essex are doing a good job of getting that right and striking the right balance.

“Behind the scenes we do have views on the inconsistency of the guidance, but at the front end we’ve just got to make it work and, by and large, that’s what our members in Essex are doing.”

Steve said that Essex Police Federation was “getting its point across” about how this guidance has been handled. “We’re in close contact with our national organisation, we’re in contact with Essex Police through the gold and silver groups, and Essex is in close contact with the regional strategic resilience group, The Essex Resilience Forum. We have a seat at all the tables.”