Philip Davis: Don’t Overwork Officers in COVID-19 Fight
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He says the prime minister’s many orders have caused confusion and have added undue stress on officers
Opposition Leader Philip Davis said police officers are overworked in the country’s effort to combat the coronavirus.
Davis said officers are further burdened by Prime Minister Hubert Minnis’ new mandate of ensuring citizens carry an identification while away from home.
“There were disgraceful lines in the streets because the police seemed to be checking the identifications of car drivers as a result of an instruction by the Prime Minister that when you leave your home you must have government issued identification.
“We must be careful not to put too much pressure on the police and the other security personnel.”
Davis warned that when officers are stressed, the public pays the price.
“If you do, there are bound to be conflicts with the public and God forbid something unfortunate follows,” he said.
Davis said the undue burden placed on police officers and security personnel are because government have produced too many emergency orders which he believes have confused officers.
“ I also express the concern that the police and other security personnel are being overworked during this Covid-19 pandemic because the political directorate does not adequately plan what it is doing.
“It appears that things are being made up as they go along. There are too many orders. These orders are not written and collected in one place and available in one place and both the public and the police are confused,” he said.