Police update on Covid penalty notices
Sussex Police has issued more than2,600FixedPenaltyNotices to people who have breached social distancing rules during the pandemic.
During a performance and accountability meeting with PoliceandCrimeCommissioner Katy Bourne, Chief Constable Jo Shinersaidatotalof2,682notices had been handed out – though thefigureshadfallenthroughout March and April.
Only a handful have been issued since the lockdown restrictions were relaxed – 12 of whichwereforindoorgatherings where people refused to stick to the rules.
Ms Shiner said: “The vast majority of the public have been verysensibleandverypragmatic in recognising that this is only a stage of the journey out of where we’ve all been.”
Predicting a rise in calls about pubs and clubs, Ms Shiner said the police were working with other agencies – such as licensing, environmental health and trading standards – to deal with incidents fairly.
She added: “It’s as important to us that we do support those local businesses and the local economy to be able to thrive again, bearing in mind they’ve been through such a challenging time.”
Urging people not to be complacentnowthatrestrictions have been eased, she said there was still ‘a significant amount of work’ going on to make sure the public was as safe as possible.
Praising her officers for ‘the patience, the tolerance, the professionalism’theyhadshown during the pandemic, Ms Shiner saidshewas‘incrediblyproud’of their work.
Looking at the cost of the pandemic to Sussex Police, she estimatedafigureof£3.4million, which included loss of income – but added that this had been prettymuchbalancedoutthanks tosurgefundingandgovernment reimbursements as well as roughly £1million in savings.
Moreaccuratefiguresshould be available later this year.
Ms Shiner said: “At this time wejustneedtothinkaboutwhere we are at the moment and make surethatwearedoingeverything wecantospendmoneyefficiently andeffectivelytokeepthepublic safe. Then we’ll be able to talk more about some of those costs as the summer goes on.”
When it came to training, she told the meeting that the pandemic had had little impact, though some of the training had had to be carried out online.
The force will have 249 new officersbytheendofMarch2022 – an increase of 117 officers after those who leave the job are taken into account.
At Gatwick, there will be a reduction of 34 posts, previously funded by Gatwick Airport Ltd, though the majority of those losses will be managed through vacancies.