North West Forces bolstered with 938 extra Officers and funding to fight neighbourhood crime

THE Government is bolstering Police forces with extra Officers and resources to cut crime and keep communities safe, as new statistics show that an additional 6,620 Officers have joined forces across England and Wales. The figures published on Thursday, 28 January 2021, which show progress from the launch of the campaign up to the end of December 2020, mean that the Government's campaign to recruit 20,000 additional Officers over the next 3 years remains ahead of schedule, having exceeded the target to recruit 6,000 Officers by March 2021.  928 additional Officers in the North West area are already helping to keep people safe by supporting the Police response to the Pandemic, who have stepped up their enforcement against those flouting rules to help stop the spread of Coronavirus. Of the new recruits, many will already be out supporting the ongoing Police response to the Pandemic, helping to stop the spread of Coronavirus by assisting with enforcement action against those flouting the rules.

The recruitment drive is at the centre of the Government's promise to back the Police with more resources and support to cut crime, and today the Home Secretary has also announced an additional ₤20 million to help crack down on 'neighbourhood crimes' like burglary, robbery, theft and vehicle crime. This funding forms the 2nd round of the Safer Streets fund, which launched in January last year. It will be open to both Police and Crime Commissioners and Local Authorities and go towards local crime cutting interventions in residential areas.  This includes simple changes to the design of high crime areas, such as improved home security, increased street lighting and the installation of CCTV. The announcement will bring total investment in Safer Streets to ₤45m over 2 years, supporting even more areas that are disproportionately affected by neighbourhood crime with the tools to deliver tangible and sustainable impacts. 

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:- "I am delighted we have exceeded our own target to recruit 6,000 additional Police Officers by March 2021. Keeping our streets is my absolute priority and many of these new Officers in the North West Region are already on our streets helping to fight the Coronavirus Pandemic, and for that they get my huge thanks. These new Officers, on top of further funding to tackle crimes such as burglary, robbery and vehicle crime will ensure the Police have the powers, tools and resources they need to cut crime and make you feel safer in your community."

Liverpool City Region Hits ½ Million Rapid Tests

MORE than ½ million rapid tests for Covid19 have now been taken across the Liverpool City Region. The milestone was reached, on Sunday, 24 January 2021, with over 10,000 positive Covid19 cases having now been identified as part of the pilot; even though they were showing no symptoms at all.

The news comes as leaders once again encouraged anyone who must continue to work or care for others to get repeatedly tested. Initially piloted in Liverpool, SMART (Systematic, Meaningful, Asymptomatic, Repeated Testing) was developed to enable people without symptoms to get tested for Covid19 and encourage them to live more normal lives through repeat testing.

Following the initial pilot phase, the scheme was extended to include the entire Region, with all 6 Local Authorities in the Liverpool City Region (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral) are taking part in the programme. Now, with national lockdown regulations in place and most people asked to stay at home, SMART testing has been re-prioritised for those who must continue to mix with others; either through essential work or paid/unpaid caring commitments.

This includes those who work in the emergency services, and also applies to people who are keeping essential services running during the lockdown, such as:- transport workers, carers, energy suppliers, delivery drivers and essential retailers. While 500,000 tests is a key landmark for the SMART Testing programme, the leaders of the 6 borough Local Authorities and Metro Mayor, Steve Rotheram, are urging essential workers to keep coming forward for the rapid test.

In a joint statement, the Local Authority Leaders, Acting Mayor of Liverpool, and Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, said:- "The fact that ½ million people in the Liverpool City Region have come forward to get tested since the pilot began is a real show of commitment from local people in the fight against Covid19 and one of which everyone who has taken part can be proud. The more we know about the spread of the virus, where the outbreaks are and which groups it is affecting, the more effectively we can tackle it. 1 of the major motivations in piloting mass testing in the City Region was to help us build the infrastructure that would later help us to roll out the Coronavirus vaccine as quickly and safely as possible. We are confident that the capability, expertise and infrastructure are in place and are calling on the Government to work with us to accelerate vaccinations across our Region. Please continue to be vigilant; the new variant of Covid19 is spread more easily. Cases might be starting to come down, but we are still seeing extremely high numbers of people being admitted to Hospital and, sadly, dying from Covid19. It's as important as ever now to stay at home unless absolutely essential, to wear a mask, maintain a safe distance from others and wash your hands. For those local heroes who must continue to work, provide essential services and care for others during lockdown, please keep coming forward and getting tested. Our thanks again go to every one of you."

Anyone who must mix with others during lockdown, for legitimate work or care reasons, can simply turn up for rapid, regular and free testing without having symptoms of Covid19. People taking the test usually get their results within the hour. In addition to the City Region testing facilities, a new Non Symptomatic Test Centre has also been set up in Cheshire. For more information on when and how testing is available in your area, and an interactive map of non-symptomatic testing locations, please visit your Local Authority website or go to:- LiverpoolCityRegion-CA.Gov.UK.

Over 30 people fined for Covid breaches after Officers called to parties and gatherings in Liverpool

MERSEYSIDE Police have issued over 30 people with fixed penalty notices for breaching Covid regulations after Officers visited 2 business in premises in Liverpool. We are told that at around 10.30pm, on Saturday, 30 January 2021, Officers were dealing with an unrelated incident outside a business premises called Shred Fast Gym, on Long Lane, in Aintree, when they were made aware of a gathering of people inside. When they entered the found 20 people in a studio inside. No 1 was wearing PPE and most were not socially distancing. There were people present who had travelled from as far as Billinge, Widnes, Wirral and Southport to attend the gathering. In total 19 people were issued with fixed penalty notices and the business owner has been reported to the Local Authority as an event organiser. At around 3.15am, on Sunday, 31 January 2021, Officers attended at the Richmond Hotel, in Hatton Garden, in Liverpool City centre and found around 200 people present and 4 ongoing parties with evidence of drug use. We are told that Officers then removed everyone who was not a legitimate guest within the Hotel. 13 fixed penalty notices were issued and 11 documented warnings were given. 1 woman was arrested for breaching Coronavirus legislation and for 2 counts of assault constable. Plus, 1 man at the location was arrested as he wanted for a No Bail Warrant. In addition 3 community resolutions were issued for drugs and 20 people were stop searched under the Misuse of Drugs act. Chief Superintendent Matt Boyle said:- "We are currently in a national lockdown which means people should not be leaving their homes for non-essential reasons or meeting up with other people outside their household or support bubble. This sort of behaviour is unbelievable and unacceptable and officers should not be confronted with abuse and violence when attempting to uphold the law which most people are rightly abiding by. I would continue to ask people to please consider their own safety and that of their loved ones. We are all in this together and the laws apply to everyone. We all need to do everything we can to protect the NHS and our frontline staff during this deadly Pandemic and we will not hesitate to take action when we believe people are flouting the rules."