West Midlands pubs reopening 'will put more pressure on police'
The reopening of pubs will put more pressure on police, the West Midlands Chief Constable has said.
Pubs are expected to be allowed to open in July, more than three months after being ordered to close due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Police forces across the country were put under pressure to ensure lockdown rules were followed at the height of the pandemic in March and April.
And West Midlands Police Chief Constable Dave Thompson said "impromptu raves" and the return of car cruising were now starting to stretch the force.
He said demand on officers was only likely to increase when pubs open their doors again.
More Covid-19 coverage:
Mr Thompson said: "After several weeks of protests we are now dealing, through Operation Reliant, with impromptu raves, a return of vehicle cruises this week and continuing gang-related tensions.
"The demands are unlikely to ease and there will be additional pressures posed when licensed premises open in July. I think this is a very difficult context for us all trying hard to do our job. The response has been outstanding from the force."
Improve
The chief constable also reiterated his intention to do more to improve race relations and ensure the force does not treat BAME people unfairly.
It comes after further evidence emerged last week that black people are four times more likely to be stopped by police in the West Midlands.
The treatment of black people has been brought into sharp focus by the death of George Floyd in America, which has sparked protests across the UK.
Mr Thompson said: "I think we need to set out the truths about our position on recruitment, progression, fair treatment of staff, our service, our use of powers and force and our role in the criminal justice system as regards black people. These truths will need to set out what we can say is not right, what we think causes this, what we have done so far and what we intend to do.
"By setting out these truths in the coming weeks and months we start to work out what to do. As you saw last week we are disproportionate in our use of force at every level on black people (versus white). We have to accept this is fact and then explore why and what we as professionals can do to address this.
"I do not shy away from the focus on black issues in this discussion. It is a Black Lives debate and we must not lose the focus in a broader response to diversity."
