OFFICERS must ensure they do not forget to wear face masks during busy shifts, South Yorkshire Police Federation has warned.<\/p>\n
Officers sometimes forget to wear proper PPE because they are now being \u201crushed off their feet\u201d, Steve Kent, Federation Chair said.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cPPE is available in large stocks. Everything should be there for those officers who need it. Sometimes cops are so busy they sometimes forget those simple things like putting on their mask when it\u2019s appropriate and needed, and that is a concern. When they\u2019re bouncing from job to job to job it can sometimes get forgotten about.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would tell officers – always have your PPE with you. Use it when you\u2019re supposed to and when it\u2019s appropriate and just don\u2019t let those standards slip. Colleagues also need to be mindful that we don\u2019t want pictures of them in the media without their masks on. People will potentially attack us for that. So officers just need to be prepared and if they haven\u2019t got it, for whatever reason, they have to be prepared to justify it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Police Federation of England and Wales has warned that Covid-19 is still around and that officers should not become complacent. Half as many gloves and masks were being used at the beginning of July compared with the early lockdown period, while the number of jobs attended by officers increased, the national Federation warned.<\/p>\n
In a statement released earlier this month, Operational Policing lead Simon Kempton said: \u201cIn terms of the new face coverings, there are some exemptions in place for police officers, such as in circumstances wearing a mask could stop us from communicating with someone, or if a situation kicks off and there isn\u2019t time to put a mask or covering on. Those instances aside, police officers should be wearing face coverings in any situation where we\u2019d expect the public to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n