THE tier rules and COVID restrictions around Christmas are inconsistent, making them even more challenging to police, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Steve Kent, Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said: \u201cI 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\u2019s a challenge to officers, because they don\u2019t know where things are.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that this year, officers \u201chaven\u2019t had the opportunity to take our foot off the pedal\u201d.<\/p>\n
Christmas demand is likely to be similar to normal years, but in different areas, Steve said: \u201cYes, 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what we\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The COVID restrictions also have an impact on officers\u2019 personal lives and wellbeing, Steve added. He said: \u201cOfficers want some downtime in their lives as well and they\u2019re not able to get it at the minute because there\u2019s nowhere open. It\u2019s just a case of going to work and going home all the time. The same as with the general public\u2019s mental health \u2013 it\u2019ll have an effect on officers as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
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