Norfolk officers ready to step up to the plate as lockdown lifts across England

2 July 2020

As pubs and restaurants re-open across the county this Saturday, Norfolk officers will “step up to the plate and police as best they can”, according to Norfolk Police Federation.

But Federation Chairman Andy Symonds’ message to officers is to “be safe out there” and wear the correct PPE, in light of a rise in assaults against the police.

He said: “We’re as ready as we can be. It’s a little bit of an unknown. It’s frustrating that the Government didn’t take all the stakeholders’ views into account and not open things on a weekend, but we are where we are with it

“As always, the officers here in Norfolk will step up to the plate and police as best they can. We’ve got the public order shifts back on, so we’ve got that capacity to be able to deal with any issues that may come along.”

Officers will be reverting back to their public-order shift patterns, but the Federation has worked to ensure that no Norfolk officers have had their normal shifts changed or rest days cancelled in order to police the weekend re-openings.

Andy added that he hoped ‘PC Rain’ arrived on Saturday, as a rainy day would help ease the burden on the police service.

The worry in police forces, he said, was not knowing how many pubs were going to open and how many people would flock to them. In addition officers needed to think about the Covid regulations and keep their PPE within easy reach.

He said: “Officers may be dealing with more crowds than they are used to. So it’s keeping safe, keeping each other safe and we’ll get through it.”