Warwickshire police officers praised for their work during the Covid-19 pandemic

Warwickshire’s police and crime commissioner has praised officers for their handling of the Covid crisis.

In his draft annual report, which was revealed to members of Warwickshire’s police and crime panel on Thursday (September 23), Philip Seccombe said staff deserved praise for their efforts over the past 18 months.

He said: “Of course, our emergency services have responded magnificently to the challenges the year has presented.

"While our colleagues in health and social care have rightly deserved our plaudits, policing too has played a major part in keeping our communities safe.

“The work of police officers and frontline staff throughout the pandemic deserves enormous praise.

"Working at home was never an option for them and this meant putting themselves at personal risk to keep the public safe.

“They also had to cope with an ever changing-landscape of legislation designed to keep the public safe.

"While the majority of people in Warwickshire took up the mantra to ‘do the right thing’, inevitably officers had to take enforcement action as a last resort against the small minority who flouted the rules.

“Striking the right balance was always going to be a hard task but public confidence in the way in which the pandemic was policed remained high in Warwickshire, throughout. The togetherness of local people and communities during the last difficult year was heartening but not surprising to me.

“Warwickshire has always enjoyed enormous community spirit and that is something that I know will remain strong throughout the coming years.”