There hasnât been much to report recently and like a lot of people we had got into a bit of an endless routine where days, weeks and months are starting to blur into one. However as we come back onto dayshifts over a sunny Bank Holiday weekend there are a few things worth mentioning.
As I have driven around today there have been no obvious signs to me that we are still in the middle of a world health pandemic with the potential to kill hundreds of thousands of people in this country alone. The volume of traffic on the roads is high, with caravans, mobile homes and camper vans all moving about along with a large number of motorcyclists having group âride outsâ, there are queues outside most of the shops I have passed and there are people walking and cycling all over the place enjoying the sun.
This has appeared slightly at odds with current government guidance which is:
âIt is still very important that people stay home unless necessary to go out for specific reasons set out in law. These include:
⢠for work, where you cannot work from home
⢠going to shops that are permitted to be open â to get things like food and medicine, and to collect goods ordered online or on the phone
⢠to exercise or spend time outdoors for recreation
⢠any medical need, to donate blood, avoid injury or illness, escape risk of harm, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.â
I fully appreciate that there is what appears to be a lack of clarity around some of this guidance but for me (as one of the people asked to try and achieve what the government wants its citizens to do) the focus is on the words: âstay at home unless necessaryâ. There has been a lot of discussion about the wording and interpretation of the legislation currently in force and in the last 24 Hrs this has become a bit personal at the heart of the government with a debate raging over whether a senior advisor could have done what he did legally under the legislation.
As a police supervisor I occasionally get asked âCan weâŚâŚ.â questions similar to these:
-Can we make probationary officers make tea for the whole shift.
-Can we stop and search someone because they âdonât look rightâ.
-Can I claim overtime for being off late because Iâve spent too much time chatting and not doing the work I needed to do.
-Can we arrest people for annoying us.
-Can we tell the CPS how poor we think their understanding of the law is when they make a decision we donât like.
-Can we use force against someone without it being proportionate, legal and necessary.
The answer to all of these is of course, no. (I appreciate for some of the retired officers reading this, that may not always have been the case). But the question shouldnât be âcan weâ, more: âshould weâ. Police officers in the UK have several hundred yearsâ worth of laws to guide them but I have found that for the majority of what uniformed officers deal with, a little knowledge and a lot of common sense will get you through.
We have been tasked with delivering the aims set out by Government around the lock down. We have been asked to; Educate, Encourage and Explain the legislation prior to Enforcing it. If we take Enforcement action it will be expensive for the recipient and ultimately time consuming for us. We are being asked to interpret words like âreasonableâ which can often mean different things to different people, depending on experience and circumstances.
It may well be that riding your motorbike with your mates on a sunny day feels like âessential exerciseâ or going camping in the New Forest with your family is good for your âemotional wellbeingâ (not that this is my experience of going camping with my childrenâŚâŚ), so maybe the question shouldnât be; âcan youâ do these things but; âshould youâ.
Iâm no scientist and Iâm certainly not a politician but I watch documentaryâs and the news and it doesnât feel to me like we are out of harmâs way yet. So before you look to enjoy the bank holiday away from home please consider if this is something you âshould doâ at this stage of the Countryâs recovery.
The speeding vehicles are easy, we have calibrated speed guns and we are out in force conducting checks on the Countyâs roads in line with Force and National Priorities. The Covid legislation is less âblack and whiteâ and if we end up having a disagreement with you over whether what you are doing is or isnât legal we may have to let a magistrate make the final decision. Iâm not sure that this will be helpful for anyone, so please try to focus on what you âshouldâ be doing in order to reduce the spread of Covid, rather than concentrating on the many different interpretations of the current legislation that are available online, from my mate Johnâs cousin or via several different newspapersâŚâŚâŚâŚ.
Stay safe (ideally at home).
PS Dave Whitby and Salisbury CPT 5.
