There are number of challenges the Regina Police Service is working with while the community attempts to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Chief of Police Evan Bray said they have taken a lot of steps during the pandemic. Among those steps are changes to service delivery such as police investigating less serious, non-in-progress crimes through phone conversations or online reports.
Bray said they have also changed how they deploy police officers into the community.
“We have, for example, police officers that work in school resources, community engagement or cultural diversity, and those officers have been redeployed back out to the front lines,” he explained.
“This is just a way we can ensure we are well-staffed and well-resourced to handle needs in the community should and when they arise.”
He added there are currently no officers that have symptoms or have any reason to think they have been in contact with someone that has symptoms. However a handful of officers have had to self-isolate for short periods of time after interactions with members of the public who either had symptoms or were in contact with someone who had COVID-19 symptoms.
In one case, two officers had to self-isolate for two days while waiting for test results. Those results showed they were negative and the officers have since returned to duty.
Bray wants to remind the public to follow the regulations implemented by the provincial government to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, and that anyone not following legal orders from the government can result in penalties or charges by police.
He said at the end of the day, people need to comply.
“The enforcement is really secondary to compliance. We really need people to comply,” stated Bray.
“If you’ve recently returned from a trip to Mexico, we expect you’re going to self-isolate for 14 days. If we get a report you’re out shopping, we will go and tell you to go home. There may be some subsequent action that happens.”
He reiterated it’s important to make sure those people are back in their safe, self-isolation zone so the spread is prevented within the community.
