Majority are adhering to covid rules

It won’t be long before our region is once again lit up by twinkling lights and Christmas is upon us. Of course, the festive season is going to be different this year as we all continue to play our part in stopping the spread of the Coronavirus.

This week, the Government announced the first details of the UK-wide Christmas arrangements and the five-day easing of restrictions in oder to allow some people from different households to mix with one another.

But before that, we return to a tier system similar to that in place before the second national lockdown.

I would once again like to thank the overwhelming majority of people who are making significant sacrifices by adhering to the rules.

We will continue to work closely with you and we will offer advice to people who have mistakenly broken the restrictions.

But as previously made clear, individuals who choose to ignore the measures can expect enforcement action to be taken.

We will also continue to offer support to our local authority partners around their engagement with businesses.

Away from Covid, winter always offers a different set of challenges for us from a policing perspective but I am delighted to see our neighbourhood teams continuing to tackle the issues important to you.

A huge amount of work went on behind-the-scenes in partnership with local authorities and Tyne &Wear Fire& Rescue to prepare for Halloween and Bonfire Night, and we were pleased that they mainly passed without incident and any pockets of disorder swiftly dealt with.

This is a difficult time for everyone here in the North East and further beyond, but I want to reassure you that we will continue to endeavour to provide the exceptional policing service that you both deserve and expect from us.