Communities getting daily joint COVID safety check-ups

As Hertfordshire’s environmental officers, trading standards teams and police continue working together to give the county’s communities a regular COVID safety check-up, some 78 verbal warnings have been issued to people ignoring the rules.

In the last week, Hertfordshire Constabulary police officers and council staff across the county have visited hundreds of licensed premises, pubs, restaurants, takeaways and shops, reminding businesses and individuals to follow the government regulations as part of a Hertfordshire’s Local Resilience Forum (LRF) led drive, including closing at 10pm and complying with both social distancing and test and trace requirements.

The police initiative, called Operation Sunrise, includes a high-visibility presence in busy town centre hotspots as well as proactive patrols and reactive response where required, working in partnership with council colleagues.

‘Under Operation Sunrise we have lined up extra resources for dedicated patrols to be out and about encouraging compliance with the coronavirus rules across the county,’ said Hertfordshire Constabulary Chief Constable Charlie Hall. ‘I thank the majority of people for doing the right thing and using face coverings, maintaining social distancing and the ‘rule of six’, and self-isolating where necessary.’

He said police and council officers had spoken to hundreds of business people and to members of the public, with enforcement action necessary for flagrant breaches, including dealing with a number of house parties throughout the county.

‘While most people are complying with the regulations, we are working closely with landlords and providers of student accommodation to encourage individuals to respect the rules,’ he added.

Darryl Keen, Director of Community Protection, Chief Fire Officer and chair of the strategic coordination group of the LRF, added: ‘Please remember that the council staff and police officers who may speak to you if they think you’re not following the rules are only doing their job. It’s not us against you – we’re all in this together and we owe it to one another to do the right thing.’

If you are concerned that an individual is breaking the law or you are experiencing anti-social behaviour, you can report this to police, who will consider the most appropriate response and will target the most problematic behaviour. Reports should be made online at herts.police.uk/contact or via 101 wherever possible. In an emergency dial 999.

If you’re concerned that a business is breaching coronavirus rules, please contact your local district or borough council in the first instance.

If you are feeling unwell, you should call 119 or book a test at www.gov.uk/coronavirus.