POLICE have said being assaulted is not as ‘part of the job’ after two people were arrested following an incident in Holywell. A force spokesman confirmed that officers were called to a domestic incident at an address in Holywell in the early hours of Tuesday morning, February 3, and while dealing with it two of them were physically assaulted and spat at. It was said that a man and woman were arrested. Addressing the incident, Chief Constable Carl Foulkes said: “Every day our officers deal with very difficult and challenging situations and put themselves in harm’s way to uphold the law and protect the public.
North Wales Police. The head of a police oversight committee has claimed “spitting and coughing” at officers has helped make assaults on emergency workers the most common pandemic crime. Pat Astbury, chairwoman of North Wales Police and Crime Panel (PCP) made the remark when asking assistant chief constable Richard Debicki to pass on the committee’s thanks for the work police staff have done during the crisis. A recent survey by the police federation found 28% of North Wales Police officers believed they had contracted coronavirus during the pandemic. More than 40% of those believed they caught it at work and 29% percent reported they had become unwell with Covid-19 after being assaulted in the line of duty by someone infected with the virus.
A POLICE Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) survey has highlighted the reality of the human impact on the health of police officers during the pandemic The federation s 2020 Demand, Capacity and Welfare survey also starkly revealed how officers are risking their own wellbeing in the line of duty. It has illustrated the major health risks involved in policing the pandemic, with a significant number of North Wales Police officers reporting they believed they had contracted the virus (28 per cent). Almost half (42 per cent) of these respondents believed they contracted the virus through work-related activities and 29 percent reported that they had become unwell with COVID-19 after being assaulted in the line of duty by someone who has COVID-19.
BBC News
By Elen Wyn
image captionThe first Covid-19 vaccines were given in Wales in December
Police officers should be given priority on the vaccination list, a North Wales Police Federation representative has said.
Insp Trystan Bevan said police officers needed protection as they dealt with Covid rule-breakers.
A Senedd petition calling for police officers to receive priority has been signed more than 10,850 times.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) said it was vaccinating in line with the national priority list.
Insp Bevan, who is a North Wales Police Federation representative, said officers should be vaccinated not only for their own safety but that of the community.
BBC News
Published
image captionThe first Covid-19 vaccines were given in Wales in December
The population of Wales has been split into 10 groups and where you sit broadly determines where you are in the queue to get a coronavirus vaccine.
The had been early criticism at the speed and approach to the roll-out compared to the other nations of the UK but Wales has since been out in front.
The Welsh Government says it aims to have all over-70s, care home residents and staff, front-line health workers and those extremely vulnerable to the virus vaccinated by mid-February.
Over-50s and younger people with health conditions that put them at higher risk should follow by the spring, all depending on supplies of the vaccine arriving.