JUST 4% OF POLICE STAFF TESTED FOR CORONAVIRUS WERE POSITIVE
15 confirmed cases in 200 days
FIFTEEN people who work for Staffordshire Police have tested positive for coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
Figures obtained by The Sentinel show 362 tests were carried out on police staff and officers between March 1 and September 16.
March saw just two tests done, with the number rising sharply to 102 in May. On average, around 40 to 50 tests have been carried out each month.
There have been 15 confirmed Covid-19 cases recorded across the force.
It is not clear how many of these are front-line officers or how many bobbies have had to self-isolate due to symptoms.
Phil Jones, chairman of the Staffordshire Police Federation, said: “Police officers aren’t immune and they take the same risks as everybody else.
“In fact, you could argue that they take a higher degree of risk as they come into contact with members of the public more often and have to enter people’s homes and such.
“But they have got PPE and it’s good they’ve got access to testing so they know if they need to self-isolate. We’re in a really good position in terms of PPE.
“The police generally have been put in a really tough position, with changing coronavirus legislation. But the ‘four Es’ strategy of explaining the legislation to people and asking them to work with it has worked really well, with the last strand of that being enforcement.
“In Staffordshire, we’ve seen the third lowest number of enforcements, which is really good as it means the public have been really accepting of the new legislation.”
Through another Freedom of Information Act request, The Sentinel has discovered not a single fine has been handed out by the force to people caught not wearing a mask on public transport or in other mask-mandated spaces.
A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: “We are working hard to ensure we continue to safeguard all of our staff.
“Although we have managed well so far, we are not complacent and continue to revise and update working conditions and guidance relating to Covid-19 at Staffordshire Police.”