Hampshire Police Federation boss says social distancing could be around for another year as demand on policing 'intensifies'

That is the view of Hampshire Police Federation, which is having to adapt to more officers returning to work amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Federation chairman Alex Charge believes the force has dealt well with the unprecedented challenges but admits there is a long road ahead before things return to normality for both police and public.

He said: ‘Demand has not returned to where it was, but it’s not much below that.

‘As lockdown has eased, there’s been a slow and gradual increase back to more business as usual.

‘Feedback we’ve had [from officers] is that the force has dealt with it [the virus] well and we’ve certainly had some contacts around the support we’ve given officers.

‘It’s still a watching brief because the virus has not gone away and I think social distancing measures are going to be with us for the next 12 months.

‘Then it’s how we do policing safely within that environment and as we move back to things like shops being open.

‘People are much more accustomed to it, but I don’t think they’re that blasé to say it’s not a risk any more.’

Mr Charge stressed that officers still need support, particularly those with health or those whose children may be going back to school.

‘We’re helping out now with the return to normality, the step back from lockdown, and making sure members who have got health conditions are appropriately supported back to work,’ he said.

‘As children go back to school, we need to think about what that looks like for officers and partners and whether they have got sufficient childcare to accommodate it.’

Part of that support is ironing out the force staffing levels and managing social distancing as police stations begin to fill up with returning officers.

‘We are working with the force around PPE for different situations and entering into conversations around the crewing state with officers and different roles as they come back with social distancing,’ Mr Charge said.

‘Also our police control room is moving back from the reduced capacity they’ve had due to social distancing so we will see how they manage to go back up to capacity and still keep everyone safe.’

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