Surrey Police get £400,000 to help them enforce Covid-19 rules

Surrey's Police and Crime Commissioner has welcomed extra funding to step up enforcement of coronavirus rules.

The force is getting almost £400,000 after the government announced a £30m boost across the country.

The extra money is designed to help increase police patrols in town centres and to ensure that people are complying with Covid-19 restrictions and self-isolation requirements.

A plan will now be drawn up by Surrey Police and submitted to the Home Office to outline how the Force’s allocation of £388,264 will be used here.

PCC David Munro said:

“We are entering a critical stage in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic and that continued public co-operation will continue to be crucial as we head towards winter.

“The four E policing approach to dealing with any breach of the restrictions with enforcement as a last resort has up to now been the right one and the vast majority of our public have stuck to the rules.

“But sadly we are seeing a rise in cases both nationally and here in Surrey which is why it is now more important than ever that the small minority who continue to flout the restrictions face the full force of the powers available to officers.

“I have previously voiced my concern that policing these restrictions will put an extra strain on our resources so I am pleased to see this extra allocation of funding announced today which will go some way towards easing that burden.

“The Policing Minister has indicated that these funds should only be used to pay for extra officer capacity through increased overtime or other suitable measures. So I will be working with the Force in the coming days to submit a plan on how we can best utilise this in Surrey.

“My message to the public remains the same - we must all play our part and take personal responsibility by sticking to the rules in place to try and halt the spread of this virus.”