‘Cut us some slack’ say police slammed for lockdown blitz
POLICE were urged to be consistent in handling the coronavirus lockdown as force chiefs hit back at criticism over their use of emergency powers.
Chief constables urged the public to “cut us a little bit of slack” yesterday as they admitted: “We won’t always get this perfectly right”.
Critics included former Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption, who compared the enforcement of the coronavirus lockdown to a “police state”.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said there had been “one or two instances” of police being heavy-handed but in the main forces were being sensible.
Derbyshire Police in particular have come under fire after using a drone to film dog walkers visiting the Peak District.
But the county’s chief constable Peter Goodman defended the tactic yesterday.
He said: “We had many, many members of the community contacting the police very concerned because villages that are largely filled by elderly residents who were self-isolating were inundated by thousands of visitors parking and walking around their villages.”
Mr Goodman said police put out the footage “to start a conversation with the public, frankly”.
He said the intended message was “this is what Derbyshire is like and at this time we believe the sensible thing is not to come to Derbyshire to come walking because of the risk you are posing to elderly residents”.
Lancashire Police issued 123 fines for breaches of the rules at the weekend, while officers in Cheshire summonsed six people for offences including several people from the same household going out to buy nonessential items.
In Leeds, a 13-year-old boy was arrested under heath regulations. He was taken into custody for failing to give his address so he could be returned home on Saturday morning.
Dave Thompson, chief constable of West Midlands Police, England’s second biggest force, said his officers had used enforcement powers only twice since Thursday.
He said: “Police officers do not have the option to stay at home.
“They are out in their communities, they are putting themselves in harm’s way.
“I think we should be recognising that work that they are doing at the moment and not criticising for the odd occasions where human beings trying to do their best in imperfect situations may not have got this to everybody’s taste.
“I think the public are trying to stick to this, which they are, and I think the general comments that have been made by experts and people – they just need to cut us a little bit of slack at the moment, it’s pretty tough.
“We just need to calm down and say the onus is on you as a member of the public to follow this advice, the police are there to help the public do it.
“We won’t always get this perfectly right in every case.”
Andy Cooke, chief constable
of Merseyside Police, said: “This is not the time to be criticising the police for a small number of misinterpretations of the legislation and advice.
“The vast, vast majority of my colleagues are doing the right thing to keep you safe in difficult circumstances.
“Please support us and work with us.”
Guidance issued by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing to forces says communities must receive a “consistent” level of service from officers, along with a “single style and tone”.
Engage
Chiefs said officers should first “engage, explain and encourage” people to follow the new public health regulations, and “only as a last resort, enforce”.
NPCC chairman Martin Hewitt said yesterday: “We will constantly be striving to achieve that level of consistency.
“We will be looking at the way issues are being dealt with and the good practice, as well as things we think maybe we wouldn’t want to do in that way.
“But we are going to have to learn as we go along because this is very challenging.
“The measures are unprecedented for anybody to be dealing with, both for the public and the police.”