Thread by @AdamWagner1

How should the COVID-19 regulations be policed?

(Thread)

No easy answer.

This thread will not say that the Covid laws should never be policed.

My basic point (which I have been making since March) is that this is fundamentally a public health not a public order issue and policing should be focussed on that purpose only.

I asked serving police officers to message me views of how things are going. About 20 did - thank you:

(1) I have not confirmed that these are in fact serving police officers but have no reason to doubt
(2) I have permission to share these without revealing their identities

They are really interesting. I can't say they are representative but they certain fit with messages I have had from police (I speak to many and correspond privately too) throughout the pandemic.

Some common themes:

*First theme*

Plenty of embarrassment about the 'over enforcement' (i.e. enforcing the guidance not the law) of the regulations

"I am ashamed and embarrassed"

"I am glad to have avoided some of the embarrassments... seen by ... over zealous targeting of walkers"

"I cringe at some of the reports in media where cops are attempting to enforce guidance not law."

"Not all of us are officiously chasing joggers"

*Second theme*

(2) The regulations are really, really difficult to enforce. Common complaints are
- lack of clarity
- too many exceptions and
- change too often and too quickly

"We've had the same problems with the regulations as lawyers, the public etc."

"It is very frustrating that the guidance does not reflect the law"

"The rules are a farce and pretty much unenforceable"

"We're angry [at being put in this position] and we're scared and it feels like everyone hates us"

"The legislation is too wide"

"It's drafting is difficult to see the changes and reliance on revisions isn't easy for stressed cops at 3am"

*Third theme*

Stress, low morale, feeling that they are being given an impossible task

"Overall we don't want to be doing this, it's a public health not public order crisis and we should be seeing public health officials stepping up, backed up by us"

"morale among PCs is very low when it comes to enforcing the regulations"

"not one officer in my force likes to enforce these new regulations"

"It's the that the Daily Mail are pushing the 'All Police are Bullies' story"

*Final theme*

Enforcement fairly light tough overall, compared to other European countries. Our style of policing by consent perhaps not suited to hard enforcement?

"We often don't take action after attending"

"surprised how many calls we get neighbour reporting on neighbour"

"That's the policing culture we have here, and it's to be celebrated, but it's possibly not well suited to pandemic management"

"how much more strict police in other European countries have been"

"Not overly desperate to reach the 4th E" [i.e. enforce, after engage, explain, encourage]

As I said above, I don't know if these interesting messages are representative or not. However, I think they highlight some themes I have been concerned about for months, particularly:
- Regulations are too complex in places to enforce (particularly around "reasonable excuse")

- Regulations are increasingly complex but also increasingly poorly communicated.
- Guidance doesn't reflect the law making it even more complicated.

But, not all bad.
Many of the messages also said that they thought understanding amongst their force was OK and they focus on the first three of the Four Es

... and I think that is in general a good thing.

Because this is a public health crisis not a public order one.

Much of the behaviour we are concerned about is in deeply private realms of our lives - who we meet with and how.

Ultimately persuasion is the key weapon.

But is there a role for enforcement at all? I think there is, but it has to prioritise the key vectors of transmission.

If you read the late December SAGE report on recommended interventions, in 8 pages it doesn't even mention people meeting outdoors.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…

It also focusses very much on positive communications. No mention of "crackdowns" by police or harsh enforcement messages.

In fact, quite the opposite

"suggest positive solutions, maintain social cohesion and support, and promote a shared sense of responsibility for infection control. Fear-inducing messages should be avoided"

Given this is a public health not a public order crisis, the SAGE advice shouldn't just be for govt and local authorities. The police should tailor their own activities to these themes - and it sounds like, by and large (ignoring the wilder stories) that is what they are doing...

... i.e. focussing on those three "E's", engage, explain and encourage" which are by far the most potent weapon in the armoury. Very different to other areas of policing but this is a different kind of policing.

And where there needs to be enforcement, it should be strategic - large gatherings indoors and outdoors (without social distancing) where there is obvious high risk of transmission. Not people walking the dog in groups of 3.

Police forces doing social media should focus on these themes, not people going out for exercise. It has become an obsession and I don't see how it is helping reduce transmission - it's low hanging fruit for officers on the beat but it's also reducing trust in the laws and police

SAGE make clear that we are still in for a long haul because as people are vaccinated adherence (and patient) is likely to reduce even further. That makes it even more important that we take a strategic, medium term approach which means, fundamentally, maintaining trust.

Going back to the laws themselves, I am increasingly of the view they are not fit for purpose. Too long, complex and too many exceptions. Would it be possible to use next few weeks to think about a different approach to both drafting and communication? Time well spent in my view

As for police - I am concerned by how certain forces are behaving but also at how low morale is amongst those who contacted me. They need help. I don't see how pressuring them to 'crack down' in a blunt way helps. It will increase the negative, trust-corroding dynamic.

I do think there is a place for Fixed Penalty Notices, where, as one of officers who messaged me said, people simply refuse to engage or listen and are behaving in ways which suggest a clear breach of the regulations. There will be those people, but social cohesion also crucial.

So at the end of a long thread, I'm not sure I have a very clear answer of what the role of the police is, except that it probably isn't swooping in on a couple of people walking with coffees down a country lane. Comments welcome! /end

Thanks for the responses. Adding this point as I think it's an important one.

If police treat lack of engagement as a reason *in itself* for enforcement that would be wrong, could lead to unjustified harassment of people who have no legal duty to engage

https://twitter.com/Sectioned_/status/1348381903116754949?s=20

Another point I didn't make but should have - I actually think the @PoliceChiefs and @CollegeofPolice have generally done a good job with guidance which has been pretty speedy and struck the right tone (and sometimes gently piqued over-zealous forces) beta.college.police.uk/guidance/covid…

This @PoliceChiefs statement on policing during pandemic reflects what I said, but I don't agree with this statement - I think he means that people know not to meet in large groups without a justification which is correct but in generality it's just wrong news.npcc.police.uk/releases/marti…

Problem is there are just over 100,000 police officers in England and 55 million people, and they have a full time job preventing non-Covid crime. The idea that they could realistically police minor breaches is absurd in my view and a waste of resources

https://twitter.com/emble64/status/1348408013690859520?s=20

Don't forget that there are currently many complex exceptions to the "don't leave your home" and "don't gather" laws. You can't just *see* people breaching the regulations, you have to ask them pretty detailed questions. It's impossible.

My DMs are open still and I continue to get messages from serving officers. Will share some with permission:

"We are repeatedly told that we cannot ‘stop/search’ our way out of knife crime but are being encouraged to issue more fines presumably as a way of achieving compliance"