Cops ‘need more cash’
IMPACT OF PARTY POLICING HITS FORCE
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Police want Government money for increased patrols over fears there will be more house parties and gatherings when pubs and bars are closed.
Officers are worried they are being torn from their usual duties to police Covid rulebreakers.
Despite police imposing fines of up to £10,000 there has been no decline in house parties – leading to worries over the growing temptation of more gatherings as the area enters Tier Three.
Under new rules, different households cannot mix indoors or outdoors in gardens – and pubs and bars that do not serve substantial meals will close for 28 days. People can only visit pubs and restaurants with their own households.
Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping originally said the force would need £1 million to ensure there were enough officers to police the area.
But he has now said more is needed and the force will be “bidding for as much as we can get”.
He said: “We are bidding for extra money for increased patrols. We need a more visible presence on the ground. We are bidding for as much as we can get.
“There is a lot of house parties going on, and a lot of interventions by the police. We can’t get extra officers but we can do more overtime. If we are going to tackle this we need extra resources.
“We are not going to fall out with people about the exact amount of money but this is an extra demand on policing.
“Most people are behaving well but there are small groups where we have got to intervene.
“I think the danger is if pubs and bars are closed people will want to socialise and there will be a temptation to have people around your house and that is against the regulations.”
Fines of £200 are given to those who attend and organise smaller
gatherings, while fines of £10,000 can be imposed for parties of more than 30.
Four Nottingham Trent University students were fined 10,000 each last week when council officers spotted a house party in Kimbolton Avenue, Lenton. The students claimed everyone had left the party, but more than 30 people were found hiding inside.
The students allegedly claimed that officers were “spoiling their fun”.
Two parties in close proximity in
Broad Street were visited after reports of large gatherings of Nottingham Trent University students.
Police found people hiding in bedrooms and on the balcony.
In Church Avenue, Lenton, police found University of Nottingham students partying, with several trying to leave by the back door.
Another party was shut down in Hamden Street. Police attended, but most of the revellers had left by the time they had arrived.
Officers also attended a party in Talbot Street, where it was reported up to 100 people attended at around 12.25am on Sunday.
On the same night, police and council officers attended another party in the Arboretum in Colville Street.
Police say the organiser became “confrontational” and claimed she did not have to follow the rules because she had already had Covid19.
Detective Superintendent Mike Allen said: “It is right we attend these breaches but holding these parties and creating this additional demand on the police drags us away from our important work in protecting the law-abiding community by locking up bad people like drug dealers and burglars and protecting the vulnerable from serious risk of harm.”