Challenges Of Christmas Policing

THE tier rules and COVID restrictions around Christmas are inconsistent, making them even more challenging to police, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

Steve Kent, Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said: “I think we just need a little bit of consistency at the minute. We need to know where we stand and what people are planning. It’s a challenge to officers, because they don’t know where things are.”

He added that this year, officers “haven’t had the opportunity to take our foot off the pedal”.

Christmas demand is likely to be similar to normal years, but in different areas, Steve said: “Yes, there is obviously a reduced night-time economy, which from a policing perspective is a good thing, because it frees up those officers who would otherwise be policing the Christmas parties in the town centres.

“But what we’re concerned about coming up to the Christmas period is that that gets replaced with indoor demand: domestic violence, that kind of thing, especially when people start mixing again for a couple of days.”

Media reports quoted Assistant Chief Constable Tim Forber as saying that officers would be looking to police house parties, which are banned under social distancing rules.

The COVID restrictions also have an impact on officers’ personal lives and wellbeing, Steve added. He said: “Officers want some downtime in their lives as well and they’re not able to get it at the minute because there’s nowhere open. It’s just a case of going to work and going home all the time. The same as with the general public’s mental health – it’ll have an effect on officers as well.”