South Yorkshire proactive on PPE for officers

SOUTH Yorkshire Police is “ahead of the curve” when it comes to securing anti-viral PPE for its officers.

Federation Chairman Steve Kent said the force has been “proactive” in ordering PPE at an early stage to protect its officers.

He said: “There were some logistical problems, but a large amount has arrived that is going to get distributed, which will make it a little bit better. As a force we’re pulling out all the stops out to try and get as much as possible.”

South Yorkshire Police Federation is backing calls by PFEW Chair John Apter to get anti-viral PPE for police officers as well as NHS staff.

He said: “The NHS absolutely need it and so do we because we’re at the frontline in many ways the same way as them. So it’s a constant campaign really, because at the moment there can never be too much PPE.”

Steve added that it was important to secure enough PPE for the coming weeks and months as officers would be continuing to deal with the public, including at-risk people.

He said: “There are occasions when officers have to risk-assess on an individual basis. If it’s not an urgent matter, do they necessarily have to go into a house? If it’s a routine enquiry or something that can be done another day then maybe that needs to be considered. That’s something that line managers are being reminded of – to risk-assess things and make common-sense decisions.

“Obviously officers are going to put themselves in harm’s way, which is an awful thing for us to have to do if it’s an emergency situation, but we need to minimise that risk, which is why that PPE is so vital to give them the tools to go in there and deal with incidents.”