Wiltshire PCSOs carrying out Covid patrols
They want to encourage people to stick to the new guidelines.
Last updated 1st Oct 2020
Wiltshire Police's Community Support Officers are going to be carrying out high visibility, dedicated patrols to get members of the public to comply with Covid-19 regulations.
They will take enforcement action where appropriate, if people are breaking the guidelines, and they will monitor behaviour and respond to reports from the public.
Frontline officers, staff and special constables will support the PCSOs on their patrols while also carrying out their daily police work.
Assistant Chief Constable Deb Smith said:
“From the beginning of the pandemic we have focused on engaging with the public, explaining the situation and encouraging people to adhere to the various rules and regulations.
For the large part this has worked very well and we have been pleased to see so many people taking them seriously and doing everything they can to keep people safe.
However, the Prime Minister has made it clear that we all need to be doing more to try to stop the spread of the virus, which is why we have organised these proactive teams of PCSOs to allow us to respond swiftly to concerns from the public and also carry out high-visibility patrols of areas or businesses where we have received information about repeated breaches.
Up until now we have issued very few FPNs – mainly due to the success of our engagement approach and the high levels of compliance across Wiltshire and Swindon – but we need people to understand the legal requirements which support the guidance and that we will take action against those who deliberately or repeatedly ignore the rules.”
Between 24th July and 27th September the force have handed two Covid-19 related fixed penalty notices and created 557 Covid-related logs, 19 of which were calls from businesses or members of the public wanting held in enforcing face covering legislation.
Police and Crime Commissioner, Angus Macpherson, has said he supports the force taking a tougher approach:
“One of the biggest challenges which has faced police forces is how to enforce the restrictions, while still dealing with the rising every-day demand that policing across the country is having to manage.
I believe using these dedicated teams of PCSOs is a sensible idea.
Although all our frontline police officers and staff will still respond to Covid breaches as part of their everyday duties, these PCSOs will be focused on policing the restrictions and will hopefully provide some high-visibility reassurance for our businesses and local communities.”
It will be proactive, targeted work that will take place in hopes of discouraging people to break the Covid-19 protocols.