The Cornish Times spoke to Inspector Rupert Engley as the country entered the fourth week of lockdown restrictions.
During the Easter period in South East Cornwall, officers had carried out 150 checks of beaches and beauty spots, 140 spot checks of people and vehicles, and 120 reassurance visits to supermarkets and pharmacies, where some anti-social behaviour had been reported in queues. Two businesses in the Liskeard area were reported for trading in breach of new laws.
25 verbal warnings were made, said Insp Engley, but no fines issued.
The picture of crime in the district has changed since lockdown began, he said, with burglaries down 73 percent and Victim-based crime down 28 percent.
Expressing his gratitude to his team of officers and the wider emergency services, the Inspector said: ’The absolute vast majority of the public completely understand the situation and are doing what’s been asked of them by the Government. It’s great to see and it’s made everybody’s jobs much easier to manage.’
Having to police under new legislation that tells people they can’t go about their usual daily business is a completely new concept for both residents and officers in the UK.
’But all my colleagues say they’ve had the same experience in their sectors,’ said Insp Engley.
’The beaches and beauty spots would normally be a massive draw over the bank holiday and they’ve been empty.’
Crime on the whole in the sector is down, with victim-based crime falling by almost a third since restrictions began.
’I’d say that some criminals are following the rules because they don’t want to catch the virus either,’ said the Inspector.
Criminals or would-be offenders in the area have ’stuck out like a sore thumb’ he added, as they are conspicuous by the fact they’re moving around when everyone else is at home.
Burglaries in South East Cornwall have dropped by almost three quarters in the last month compared with the previous 28 days.
’This is not a surprise as people are in their homes, but I would still urge people to be guarded about locking doors and closing windows, even when they’re at home, and to be mindful of where they’re leaving valuables.’
Domestic incidents, which includes everyhing from violence down to verbal arguments and unwanted messages on social media, are up in the sector by 14 percent, with 63 offences recorded in the last 28 days.
But violence, with and without injury, has gone down, and Insp Engley’s personal view is that the fact that the pubs are shut has had a positive impact on domestic violence.
’What we do know though, is that people experiencing domestic abuse often suffer in silence,’ he said.
’If people are experiencing this or indeed any crime, please report it – we will turn up.’
The officers in the district have been very well supported lately by around 10 volunteer Special Constables, said Inspector Engley, some of whom worked across the whole bank holiday weekend.
He added that while he estimates between 10 and 15 percent of officers and staff have been off sick or self-isolating, this has not had an impact on the sector’s response or neighbourhood policing capability.