21 officers and staff have had the virus, police reveal
1,000 COVID-RELATED ISSUES BEING DEALT WITH A WEEK, THOUGH VIOLENT CRIME DOWN
TWENTY-ONE police officers and staff have been infected with coronavirus.
The force revealed that more than 100 employees have been tested since April after displaying Covid-19 symptoms.
The figure was released in a report written by Assistant Chief Constable Julia Debenham and Paul Hindson, chief executive of the police and crime commissioner’s office.
The report said “very few of those employees required hospital treatment.
There have been numerous incidents where officers have been assaulted by suspects who have claimed to be infected and have bitten, coughed at or spat at officers trying to detain them.
It is not clear if any of the officers who tested positive were the victims of these assaults. The Mercury has asked if they are.
Chief Constable Simon Cole has been emphatic in stressing it was not acceptable for people to assault his employees, particularly given the added danger posed by coronavirus that is faced by frontline officers.
The report also covers how the force has had to respond to the pandemic and looks at how lockdown has affected crime levels and the types of offences being committed.
It said communities and the force itself have faced “unprecedented challenges”.
Fewer people are being arrested during the lockdown and that has allowed the force to temporarily close its custody area at Beaumont Leys police station while redeploying staff to keep Keyham Lane and Euston Street police station cells open.
The report said reports of serious violent crime across Leicestershire have fallen by about 50 per cent compared with the same period in 2019 and that burglaries have fallen by 48 per cent.
Incidents of domestic abuse have “increased slightly”, though no exact figures are included.
ACC Debenham said in the report the force was dealing with 1,000 Covid-19 related issues a week
She said: “This is additional demand that more than balances out the reduction in traditional crime and traffic incident demand.
“We have been very mindful of the wider community impact and community confidence associated with the new legislation and have followed the 4E approach – to engage, explain and educate. Enforcement has been undertaken as a last resort.
“The emergency legislation allows us to issue fixed-penalty notices as a means to enforce where people are not complying with restrictions.
“To date, we have issued more than 400 fixed-penalty notices.
“About two-thirds of these have been issued to people in breach of the prohibition of movement.
“We are monitoring the allocation of fixed-penalty notices across the force area to assure ourselves we are applying the legislation in the intended way.
“Since the easing of some restrictions around movement that was announced on May 10 and implemented on May 13, we have seen a significant reduction in the number of fixed-penalty notices issued.”
The force has also released figures setting out the financial impact Covid-19 has had.
It has spent £287,000 on personal protective equipment and an extra £149,000 on IT costs but it has seen parts of its income drop by £281,000.
A key part of this has been reduced money for policing at East Midlands Airport, where lockdown had dramatically cut activity.
The Government has indicated it will reimburse the police for extra costs but that has yet to be confirmed.
We are monitoring the allocation of fixed-penalty notices across the force to assure ourselves we are applying the legislation in the intended way Assistant Chief Constable Julia Debenham, right