Police officers in South Yorkshire facing 'some of the busiest times in policing' for years
Police officers in South Yorkshire are facing some of the ‘busiest times in policing’ for years as Covid lockdown restrictions are eased.
South Yorkshire’s Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said some sections of society ‘are already acting as if there were no longer any restrictions in place’ and described the situation as ‘incredibly difficult’.
As part of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown, all restrictions were due to have been lifted on June 21, but the move was delayed because of concerns over a rising number of Delta variant cases.
Chairman Steve Kent said any further extension of lockdown rules would be difficult to enforce.
“We’re already seeing people just going about their lives as normal. And you only have to go into the public to see how much the compliance of face masks is dropping,” he said.
“It’s absolutely a concern of mine that if there was any sort of extension that police officers will be put in an impossible situation. Public compliance and willingness to comply is going. We’ve been warning throughout the whole year that this three month period around the restriction easing is going to be extremely challenging and I think it’s going to be some of the busiest times in recent years in policing.”
“Are officers ready? They will do the job as best they possibly can, as they always will. My concern is the opportunity that leaves officers to get a break over the next few months, which is something we’re working on with the force. We need to make sure that happens.”