'Conflict' between police and public as Covid rules create tension
Walsall’s top cop has said policing the Covid regulations during the past year has created some “tension” between officers and the public.
Chief Superintendent Andy Parsons said police have dealt with people they wouldn’t normally be in contact with during the course of their duties during the past 12 months as they’ve looked to protect the public.
He was speaking at a Walsall health and wellbeing board on Tuesday where he presented an annual report on how the force was looking to meet objectives including preventing violence and improving the town centre.
Officers have been using the ‘four E’ approach of engage, explain, encourage and enforce during the lockdowns.
Chief Supt Parsons said the vast majority of people had complied with the regulations.
He said: “We’ve been balancing the need to service ‘business as usual’ demands from a policing perspective as well as enforcing the regulations of Covid.
“And they have bought some significant challenges. Policing Covid has bought us into conflict we wouldn’t normally wouldn’t ordinarily have come into contact with in the course of our duties.
“On a micro, day-to-day level and speaking to staff, there are causes of tension between the public and the police in terms of what we’ve been seeking to achieve, which is to protect people.
“That is something we are going to have to be mindful of when we come out of lockdown in terms of how we have that legitimacy going forward.
“It is certainly something we are seeking to achieve through the ‘four E’ approach. Where we stand now is enforcement is the final E.
“At numerous points during the lockdowns, we moved to that E quite quickly for all the right reasons, particularly in November and January when we were featuring for all the wrong reasons around infection rate.
“I think there is a sense, policing will come more into focus as we start in the reset.
“It would be fair to say Walsall is still a very safe place to live, work and visit and during lockdown, by and large, the majority of the population have conformed with the regulations.”
Board chairman Stephen Craddock added the police had handled serious Covid breaches such as pub locks ins very well.
He said: “It is difficult to balance the public perception of what people consider minor Covid breaches compared with robberies, thefts and assaults.”
