Policing the pandemic: public urged to support officers

24 November 2020

Humberside Police Federation chair Pete Musgrave is urging people to play their part in preventing the spread of coronavirus when new restrictions come into force.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night set out a new three-tier system of Covid-19 restrictions for England.

The regional rules will replace the current national measures and are set to run from 3 December until spring 2021.

The Government is set to announce which areas of England will be in which tiers on Thursday, but more areas are expected to be placed into higher tiers with tougher restrictions.

Pete said: “My colleagues have been working hard every day of this pandemic to protect the public, and will continue to do so. While it’s the Government that introduces new measures, it’s up to my colleagues to ensure they’re adhered to.

“We’ve had the support of the majority of people so far and would ask the public to continue to be supportive and realise this is an extremely challenging period for frontline officers.”

Ché Donald, national vice-chair of the Police Federation, said the new rules could be difficult to enforce, particularly if there’s a relaxation over Christmas.

“Police officers are human beings who are doing an extraordinary job in extraordinary circumstances,” he said, “However, a potential short-term relaxation of Covid-19 regulations and a return to the tier system represents a unique challenge and will be next to impossible to police.

“We will not be trying to spoil people’s fun or ruin Christmas - we’re trying to stop this deadly virus taking more lives. The vast majority of the public understand this and support us.

“However, we’ve also been criticised by some for enforcing too much – while others have said it’s not enough.

“A limited break in restrictions may also introduce scenarios where travelling across the UK to visit family could be a breach of regulations one day and not the next.

“My colleagues will step up to this challenge - as they have many times since the lockdown began in March.

“But our message to the Government is police officers need clearer and more consistent rules which can be enforced fairly, and the public need clearer instructions so that they know what they are allowed to do within the law.”