Numbers show how many officers and staff serving with Leicestershire Police have been infected by Covid-19

Some 21 officers and staff serving with Leicestershire Police have been infected by Covid-19, it’s emerged.

Very few of the victims were so ill that they needed to go to hospital to be treated, it’s been revealed.

Over 100 people who work for Leicestershire Police have been tested for the highly-infectious coronavirus since April after showing symptoms.

But it’s not known if any officers or staff based in Market Harborough have been affected during the pandemic.

The new Covid-19 facts and figures have been disclosed in an in-depth report by Assistant Chief Constable Julia Debenham and Paul Hindson.

He is chief executive of Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Lord Willy Bach’s office.

Their detailed joint study will be discussed at a meeting of Leicestershire County Council’s Police and Crime Panel next week.

None of the officers who fell ill were infected by Covid-19 after being coughed, spat at or bitten during assaults, said Leicestershire Police.

ACC Debenham and Mr Hindson have studied how the force reacted to the five-month virus emergency as well as spotlighting how the long lockdown has impacted on crime.

They say that Leicestershire and the police have both faced "unprecedented challenges" amid the biggest UK’s peacetime crisis since the Second World War.

Reported serious violent crime throughout the county has plunged by 50 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.

And burglaries have plummeted by 48 per cent.

On the other hand, ACC Debenham said the force has been tackling around 1,000 coronavirus-related issues a week.

“This is additional demand that more than balances out the reduction in traditional crime and traffic incidents demand.

“We have been very mindful of the wider community impact and community confidence associated with the new legislation and have followed the “4 E” approach," she writes.

The '4 Es' are engage, explain, educate and enforce.

“Enforcement has been undertaken as a last resort.

“The emergency legislation allows us to issue fixed penalty notices as a means to enforce where people are not complying with restrictions.

“To date, we have issued over 400 Fixed Penalty Notices,” reveals ACC Debenham.

“Around two-thirds of these have been issued to people in breach of the prohibition of movement.

“We are monitoring the allocation of fixed penalty notices across the force area to assure ourselves that we are applying the legislation in the intended way.

"Since the easing of some restrictions around movement that was announced on May 10 and implemented on May 13, we have seen a significant reduction in the number of fixed penalty notices issued.”

Leicestershire Police has been forced to fork out £287,000 on PPE kit and another £149,000 on IT costs.

The cash-strapped force will be hoping to recover at least some of that massive outlay from the Government in a bid to prevent possible cutbacks.