18 February 2021

Officers who have been working on the frontline during the pandemic are being urged to share their experiences with the Federation.

The four Federation branches in Wales have been campaigning for officers to be allowed to be offered jabs that would otherwise go to waste at the end of Covid-19 vaccination clinics.

Their campaign has been co-ordinated and supported by the Federation’s Welsh lead, Mark Bleasdale, who wants to share officers’ testimonies about the realities of policing during the pandemic with politicians.

“As officers go from job to job during their shifts, they come into contact with a wide variety of people since they don’t always have the option to socially distance and we believe this means that they are not only at increased risk of contracting the virus but also unwittingly passing it on to members of the public and then their own families when they return home,” says Mark.

“As it stands, police officers will only get the jab when the vaccine roll-out programme reaches their age group yet we know there is a small percentage of jabs that are going spare at the end of each day and we believe a system could be put in place to allow those to be given to frontline policing staff.”

Officers are asked to email their branch, explaining the role they carry out, where they feel they are at risk and perhaps outlining examples of the jobs they attend on a typical shift. If you have been assaulted by someone claiming to have the virus spitting or coughing over you please let us know and also include whether you have had Covid.

Send your responses to DyfedPowys@polfed.org