Police response to COVID-19 has been proportionate and effective, but errors need to be corrected, says Home Affairs Committee

Overall police response to COVID-19 has been proportionate and effective but forces need to continue to address and correct errors to ensure public trust is maintained – Home Affairs Committee

As a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, the police are charged with enforcing unprecedented regulations and restrictions on movement and gatherings in order to save lives and protect the NHS.

This short report from the Home Affairs Select Committee into policing during the epidemic has concluded that the early response from the police has overall been proportionate and effective, and that it is important that any errors and problems continue to be swiftly corrected so that public trust is maintained.

The committee supports the police strategy to engage, explain and encourage, with enforcement as a last resort, and strongly welcomes the vital work of police officers across the country to support the NHS and save lives. It says that adherence to the regulations will ultimately depend on public support and on maintaining the principle of policing by consent.

Given the pace at which the new regulations had to be implemented, the Committee concludes that some early errors were not surprising. It welcomes police forces making public corrections and apologies when mistakes are made, and calls on them to ensure training and proper checks are in place.

The report was finalised before the latest publication of joint NPCC and College of Policing guidance on reasonable excuses to leave home, and the release of enforcement data from police forces this week which shows a wide variation between 380 enforcement notices served by Lancashire police and 38 enforcement notices served by Greater Manchester Police. The report calls for regular monitoring by the NPCC and College of Policing where there is significant divergence in the use of enforcement measures.

The report highlights the importance of parks and green spaces during lockdown, especially for families with children and those in urban areas who don’t have gardens or outdoor space, and raises concern about parks being closed to everyone because some people are deliberately flouting social distancing regulations, without first trying enforcement measures against those individuals. It urges police forces and local authorities to work in partnership to see whether proper enforcement action can help keep parks and green spaces open for everyone else instead.

The report also calls for clarity and secure supply lines on PPE for police officers, for police officers to have access to testing, for swift prosecutions of anyone who tries to weaponise COVID-19 against the police, and for mental health support.

The report also notes with concern the growing backlog in criminal cases and the need to maintain support for victims of crime, and it calls for the Government to consider giving other workers in the criminal justice system key worker status so that further problems don’t build. It notes that crime patterns are changing during the epidemic and that more action is needed to address online fraud.

The Committee will be producing further reports including on domestic abuse.

Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, said

“Police officers around the country are doing a vital job in difficult circumstances to support the NHS and save lives.

The strategy set out by the police to engage, explain and encourage before considering enforcement as a last report is the right approach. Ultimately the effectiveness of the social distancing regulations will depend on public consent and support, and the police are right that this means policing by consent and public trust need to be maintained. The speed at which the regulations came in means early errors are unsurprising, as everyone has been feeling their way, and the police need to ensure any mistakes continue to be corrected, and that there are checks and training in place

“Given the importance of parks and green spaces, where they are threatened with closure, police and local councils should work in partnership and see whether effective enforcement measures against people who are breaching the regulations is an alternative way to keep parks open and safe for everyone else.

“We must also ensure the physical and emotional safety of police officers who are out there every day helping in the national effort to combat Coronavirus. Officers must not be put at risk due to gaps or delays in PPE supplies or disagreements over the level of protection needed and they also need mental health services support.

“We will continue to review the policing response to COVID-19. The wide variation in enforcement, for example between Lancashire and Greater Manchester Police, does raise questions we will want to consider further.”

Summary of main conclusions and recommendations:

Enforcement of Covid-19 restrictions

The report finds that laws and regulations designed to restrict movement, and prevent the spread of Covid-19, will only succeed with the consent and adherence of the public across the country. So far the vast majority have followed Government advice and regulations.

Where a police response is necessary, the Committee welcomes the strategy to engage, explain and encourage before considering enforcement as a last report, and the determination on the part of the police to uphold the tradition of policing by consent.

The police are adapting quickly and effectively to changes in the law, and early evidence suggests that the overall police response has been proportionate. The Committee recognises that the pace of implementation means that early problems and errors are unsurprising, welcomes the additional guidance the police have provided, as well as swift clarifications and apologies from police forces on social media about cases where the police have got things wrong. But it calls for continued checks and training so that public trust can be maintained. It is vital that all forces and all officers understand the distinction between Government advice and legal requirement, and that the tone and tactics they use are appropriate to each. Failing to do so depletes public trust.

The Department for Health and Social Care and the Home Office need to ensure that where there is divergence between national regulations and Government statements or guidance, they provide swift clarity for the public as well as the police.

The NPCC and College of Policing need to monitor enforcement across the country, especially where there are wide divergences in approaches between forces.

Parks and green spaces

Parks and green spaces provide benefits to the health and wellbeing of all members of the public, particularly those who do not have access to green space in their homes. Being prevented from using local parks can make it much harder to cope with lockdown.

Where people are deliberately flouting the social distancing regulations they are making it much harder for those adhering to the rules. In those circumstances police intervention is important. However, parks and green spaces should only be closed as a measure of last resort, having first tried enforcement measures or alternative access arrangements.

Testing officers for Covid-19

The Committee supports the Government’s decision to prioritise the testing of NHS workers, however police must also be a high priority. The Home Office should set out when Covid-19 testing will be available to police forces, including how many tests and who will receive them. They should also explain if any police forces or roles will be prioritised and why. The Home Office should also explain if police forces will be required to purchase their own tests or if tests will be provided by central government

PPE supply

The Committee is concerned about the long-term supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to all 43 forces as they manage this crisis. Providing appropriate PPE to all officers who need it is of paramount importance to ensure an effective policing response to COVID-19 that does not put officers at risk. It is not fair for officers on the front-line to go unprotected, given the risks of the disease spreading to themselves and others.

The Committee is reassured by police forces indicating they have enough PPE at the present time, however gaps and inconsistencies in supply are a cause for concern.

The Home Office and NPCC need to ensure there is a secure and robust supply chain for PPE, while working with other sectors such as health and social care to ensure their supplies aren’t put at risk. The NPCC should also provide their prediction of PPE demand among forces over the next six months, and the anticipated supply to meet this demand.

Domestic abuse

It is deeply concerning that restrictions keeping people at home are having the unintended consequence of causing “a domestic abuse pandemic”. Charities and police forces are reporting an increase in calls as victims are confined with their abusers. The Home Affairs Committee has issued a further call for evidence on these concerns in preparation for a dedicated report. The Committee further urges anyone with concerns about themselves or others to contact one of the organisations listed on its website.

Nature of crimes

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic is already changing the nature and prevalence of a range of crimes being dealt with by the police. The Committee will address the response to child abuse and exploitation alongside further work on domestic abuse, and continue to monitor the changing profile of crime and police work as a result of COVID-19 over the course of this inquiry.

Committee Membership is as follows:

Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP (Chair, Labour, Normanton, Pontefract & Castleford)

Janet Daby MP (Labour, Lewisham East)

Dehenna Davison MP (Conservative, Bishop Auckland)

Stephen Doughty MP (Labour, Cardiff South and Penarth)

Ruth Edwards MP (Conservative, Rushcliffe)

Laura Farris MP (Conservative, Newbury)

Simon Fell MP (Conservative, Barrow and Furness)

Adam Holloway MP (Conservative, Gravesham)

Tim Loughton MP (Conservative, East Worthing and Shoreham)

Holly Lynch MP (Labour, Halifax)

Stuart C. McDonald MP (Scottish National Party, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)