The Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro has welcomed a near £400,000 funding boost from central government announced today to help police enforcement of the Covid-19 rules in Surrey.
The Home Office revealed police forces and local councils will receive an additional £60 million in ‘surge funding’ as part of the government’s plans to tackle the rise in infections.
The extra money is designed to help increase police patrols in town centres and to ensure that people are complying with Covid-19 restrictions and self-isolation requirements.
A plan will now be drawn up by Surrey Police and submitted to the Home Office to outline how the Force’s allocation of £388,264 will be used to help Covid-19 enforcement in the county.
Full details of the Home Office announcement can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-enforcement-boosted-with-60-million-surge-funding
PCC David Munro said: “We are entering a critical stage in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic and that continued public co-operation will continue to be crucial as we head towards winter.
“The four E policing approach to dealing with any breach of the restrictions with enforcement as a last resort has up to now been the right one and the vast majority of our public have stuck to the rules.
“But sadly we are seeing a rise in cases both nationally and here in Surrey which is why it is now more important than ever that the small minority who continue to flout the restrictions face the full force of the powers available to officers.
“I have previously voiced my concern that policing these restrictions will put an extra strain on our resources so I am pleased to see this extra allocation of funding announced today which will go some way towards easing that burden.
“The Policing Minister has indicated that these funds should only be used to pay for extra officer capacity through increased overtime or other suitable measures. So I will be working with the Force in the coming days to submit a plan on how we can best utilise this in Surrey.
“My message to the public remains the same – we must all play our part and take personal responsibility by sticking to the rules in place to try and halt the spread of this virus.”