WE NEED VACCINE TO HELP PROTECT PUBLIC SAY POLICE
Officers fear they will become ‘super-spreaders’ if they are sent to break up illegal parties with no protection
RANK-AND-FILE police officers are demanding priority access to the Covid vaccine after warning they are virus ‘super-spreaders’.
The Scottish Police federation (SPF) is calling for its members to be vaccinated to protect them as they break up hundreds of illegal house parties.
it questioned why teachers were being considered for early vaccination and not police when the Government has insisted previously that schools are relatively safe.
SPF general secretary Calum Steele said the organisation ‘accepts there is an inevitable requirement to consider a whole host of factors when forming a policy’.
However, he added: ‘We cannot accept... that a service so critical for the functioning of our society, and so critical in responding to this public health emergency, like the police service, is not subject to the same considerations.
‘Since the prohibition on house parties was introduced on August 28, police officers have attended almost 7,000 such events.
‘The SPF has not been able to identify a single day in all that time that unlawful house parties have not been reported to the police.
‘After attending calls to house parties, police officers continue to attend other calls like domestic violence calls, hate crimes, and concerns for the vulnerable.
‘in every single case, police officers, through no fault of their own, increase the risk of bringing virus they have been exposed to into the homes of others.
‘They are the very epitome of state-designed super-spreaders.
‘These realities are compounded with the new strain of the virus ripping through our country and we are seeing a steady increase in coronavirus- related absences across the service.
‘Some of our stations have experienced absence rates in excess of 40 per cent and many of our critical departments live in constant fear that an infection could wipe out their ability to function.’
Since August, police have attended and investigated 6,251 reports of alleged house parties, and dispersed 3,639 illegal gatherings in private homes.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We greatly value the work of Scotland’s police officers and staff in keeping communities safe and have been liaising closely with the federation and other police and justice partners throughout our response to the pandemic.
‘We are adhering to the priority list devised by the independent expert Joint Committee on Vaccination and immunisation which has been designed to target those at greatest risk from this virus.’
Chief Constable iain livingstone said the ‘clinical guidance has to take primacy’.
Meanwhile, Mr livingstone said police responded proportionately when they were called to reports of a house party, after a video of an incident in Aberdeen was widely shared on social media. The footage appears to show a confrontation between officers and people inside a property.
Children can be heard screaming in the background as the incident seemingly becomes physical.
Mr livingstone said three arrests were made over alleged violence and disorder on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Scottish Government’s Covid briefing yesterday, Mr livingstone and first Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged people to be cautious when viewing such footage. Mr livingstone said he had asked for a full review of the circumstances.
He added: ‘As things stand at this time, i’m satisfied about the legitimacy and the proportionality of the police response.’
He said he was limited in what he could say for legal reasons, adding: ‘Police did respond to concerned calls from members of the public about what appeared to be an
‘A steady increase in absences’
ongoing house party. I would urge everybody to exercise caution when you see a partial coverage of a particular incident. Do not read into things that you can’t see and do not make inferences that are not clearly there.’
He said human rights lawyer John Scott, QC, who is reviewing Police Scotland’s use of new Coronavirus powers, will look into the incident.
Miss Sturgeon said that, in general, ‘all of us these days know that we have to take some care when looking at things on social media, just remembering that things often don’t look exactly as the reality is’.
Police Scotland confirmed officers attended a property in Aberdeen at around 11.20pm on Wednesday, adding: ‘Two women, aged 18 and 48, and a 43-year-old man were charged in connection with assaulting police officers and threatening and abusive behaviour and will be reported to the procurator fiscal.’
Meanwhile, Police Scotland figures show officers issued 326 fixed-penalty fines between December 28 and January 3, while a further 21 people were arrested over the same period.
There have been 7,089 fixed-penalties issued for Covid breaches and 544 arrests since the pandemic started.