Survey shows one in three police officers have had Coronavirus used against them as a weapon

22 February 2021

One in three police officers have faced coronavirus being used against them as a weapon, new research from the Police Federation of England and Wales has shown.

32 per cent of officers reported a member of the public who was believed to carry the virus had purposely threatened to breathe or cough on them, while nearly a quarter (24 per cent) said someone had actually done so, according to the 2020 Demand, Capacity and Welfare survey, released today.

Laura Heggie, Essex Police Federation Chair, said this was a “disgusting” statistic, that outlined what a dangerous job policing can be.

She said: “These results reinforce what is a real concern – officers being threatened to be infected with Covid. It is disgusting that 1 in 3 of the officers responding to this survey have been threatened by a member of the public of coughing or breathing at them when they have Covid.

“When over 100,000 people have tragically died with Covid and with that as a possible outcome of their threat it is no different than them saying to the officer ‘I’m going to kill you’. It is unacceptable on so many levels.

“These figures are concerning with the distressing incidents that officers are facing every day coupled with the stressful conditions we are all working under at the moment this is going to have an impact on officers mental health; after all we are human. There is only so much an officer can take day after day before they will break. It’s so important that officers are able to recognise these triggers in themselves and colleagues and ask for help. It’s ok to not be ok.”

Laura called for police officers to be prioritised for the Covid vaccine, to ensure police officers stay healthy while keeping the public safe.

She said: “It’s disappointing that the Prime Minister is unable to agree that key workers including police officers and teachers should be prioritised for the vaccine after the clinically vulnerable, elderly and NHS staff. Yet again he is sending mixed messages, he recognises key workers for all they have done and continue to do but isn’t willing to protect them.”

The survey also showed that officers felt undervalued for the dangerous work they do, and high levels of fatigue and occupational stress were found in the survey to be commonplace. Mental health and wellbeing issues were highlighted by 77 per cent of police officers, and the majority (90 per cent) of these respondents indicated psychological difficulties had been caused, or made worse, by working within policing.