Officers are just doing their job when enforcing Covid rules, says South Yorkshire police chief

Covid-19 has hit the health of people in Sheffield hard - in two ways – the first and most obvious is the direct impact of the virus itself on the physical health of those who have been infected.
By Bradie Pell, Graysons Solicitors head of family law
Published 9th Nov 2020, 16:45 BST
Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire police and crime commissionerDr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner
Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner

While some, mainly the young, have caught it and noticed little or nothing, others have been very ill and some have died.

But the virus has also had an indirect impact on mental and psychological health, and in many different ways.

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Some, especially the elderly, have been very frightened at the prospect of catching it and becoming ill. Others, not least those who live alone, have found the restrictions damaging to their sense of wellbeing. Even more have become anxious and fearful as the consequences for their jobs and futures have been threatened, first with lockdown and now with the latest restrictions.

And to some extent it has got us all down, leaving us feeling weary and fed up.

We can’t afford to let these feelings overwhelm us.

Because what has now become clear is if the pandemic is to be brought under control, the restrictions on our liberties will have to continue for a while yet and that will demand more surveillance and enforcement.

We cannot afford to have people not observing lawful regulations, however much we may regret or detest them.

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This puts the police in a difficult place – their job it to ensure the law is upheld and in ‘normal’ times we can expect the majority of people to support them in doing that.

We want to see burglars caught and car thieves arrested.

Breaking into other people’s homes and stealing their property are activities we all want to see stamped out.

But when the police enforce the laws to stop the spread of coronavirus, they will be stopping us from doing things which normally we would want to see.

We want to see people socialising and gathering to enjoy themselves. This makes life worthwhile and is crucial for our mental and psychological health.

Enforcing these restrictions, therefore, is not something police officers enjoy doing any more than we enjoy having our social lives curtailed, but if we are to get through this, we know it has to be done. What we cannot afford to happen is for a rift to open up between police and public because of it.